MANILA, Philippines — Land Bank of the Philippines reported an income gain of P9 billion in 2011, up 11 percent year-on-year on strong revenues, loans and “clear institutional focus,” its President and CEO Gilda E. Pico said Monday.

One of Landbank’s mandates is to provide loans to the agriculture and agri-business sectors such as small farmers and fisherfolk, small and medium-sized enterprises and microenterprises. It is also a conduit for international loans and credit for government agri-based projects through local government units.

Pico also announced the remittance of P5-billion worth of dividends to the National Government for the 2011 income. As a government financial institution, the bank deposits 50 percent of its income to the NG as dividend payments. These cash dividends have considerable weight when tallying the fiscal balance.

The 2011 income of P9 billion is the bank’s highest recorded profits so far mostly from loan growth, increased deposits and assets.

According to Pico, “we made solid progress in 2011 and we are looking forward to continued growth in 2012. Improving the lives of small farmers and fisherfolk, SMEs and microenterprises, and our other priority sectors remains our primary goal, and this is supported by the profits we generate from our commercial banking operations.”

As of end-December, Landbank’s deposit base increased 17 percent year-on-year to reach P507.3 billion while total assets went up by 13 percent to P638.9 billion. The capital base by also grew by 13 percent to P71.6 billion.

The bank in January raised P10.5 billion from 10-year peso-denominated Tier notes. This improved the bank’s capital adequacy ratio at 16.47 percent while its return on equity stood at 15.44 percent. Both ratios are above industry average.

The offering was oversubscribed and the bank received P12.5 billion in orders. Pico said the new capital will provide Landbank the resources to expand its loan portfolio.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has approved Landbank’s proposal to issue up to P12 billion Tier 2 capital. After the offering last month, the bank still has authority to issue up to P1.5 billion.