Union Bank of the Philippines (Unionbank) reported a net income of P12.7 billion in 2022 in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
Revenues came mainly from net interest income and fee-based income, compensating for the absence of trading gains, the bank said.
Bankero, Unionbank President and Chief Executive Officer Edwin R. Bautista said that the bank committed to execute key strategic imperatives in 2022, including the integration of the acquired Citi consumer business as well as the launch of UnionDigital.
“We delivered on our promise and the market has rewarded us for it. Our recent stock performance, increase in stock trading volumes, and the strong commitment from our major shareholders on our Stock Rights Offering reflect shareholders’ trust in the value that will be created from the execution of our strategies,” the CEO added.
The bank also reported an average return on equity of 9.7 percent, which takes into account the P40.0 billion in additional capital generated through the Stock Rights Offer in May 2022.
Net revenues increased 16 percent year-on-year, reaching a record high of P52.2 billion. Net interest income also increased by 31 percent to P38.9 billion, due to higher margins and volume.
The higher share of consumer loans compared to total loans and the rapid growth of low-cost CASA deposits fueled the expansion of net interest margins by 27 bps to 4.9 percent.
The consolidation of the acquired Citi consumer business as well as the growth in digital customer transactions were key contributors to the increase in fees and other income, doubling to P13.4 billion.
The bank also reported total assets amounting to P1.1 trillion, 31% higher than the previous year.
On the other hand, combined growth from Unionbank and CitySavings consumer loans as well as the Citi consumer business resulted in a 42 percent hike in customer loans, increasing to P479.2 billion.
Similarly, the overall growth of the retail client base and the significant use of cash management solutions by major corporations both contributed to the 25 percent increase in total deposits, which came to P711.3 billion.
Meanwhile, Unionbank Executive Vice President and CFO, Manuel Lozano said that the shift to digital allowed the bank to grow in 2022.
“In 2022, we witnessed a momentous shift in our business model. We have a solid balance sheet that continues to provide us above industry net interest margins. The shift in digital also allowed us to grow our fees coming from mobile fund transfers and payments. We were able to book the same bottomline as the previous year, but with less reliance on trading,” the executive said.
