Bank of Commerce (BankCom), an affiliate of San Miguel Corp., has approved a 79 percent increase in cash dividends for common shareholders, totaling P631.4 million, following its record P3-billion profit in 2024.
The total dividend payout amounts to over P851 million, including P220 million for preferred shareholders. This marks BankCom’s second dividend distribution since its initial public offering.
Common shareholders will receive P0.45 per share—comprising a regular dividend of P0.25 and a special dividend of P0.20—payable on July 15 to shareholders on record as of June 19.
The payout represents 28 percent of BankCom’s 2024 net income and will be sourced from retained earnings, which remain well above pre-IPO levels. The dividend hike follows a strong year for the bank, with significant gains in corporate lending, investment banking, and transaction-based revenues.
Net income reached P3 billion in 2024, the highest since BankCom joined the San Miguel Group in 2008. Return on equity rose to 9.44 percent, more than double the 4.22 percent projected in its IPO prospectus. In the first quarter of 2025, ROE further improved to 10.27 percent, exceeding the bank’s 2026 target ahead of schedule.
“A few years ago, we set forth on an ambitious five-year plan to grow ROE from 6 percent in 2021 to 10 percent by 2026. We have now surpassed that target one year early,” said BankCom president and CEO Michelangelo R. Aguilar during the bank’s recent annual stockholders’ meeting.
First-quarter 2025 net income rose 13 percent year-on-year to ₱866.8 million, driven by interest income, trading gains, and foreign exchange operations.
