UnionBank to launch foreign currency fund

ABOITIZ-LED Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) will soon launch a foreign currencydenominated investment products focused on family wealth management solutions after the lender inked a collaboration with global wealth and asset manager Lombard Odier.

The listed lender recently partnered with 221- year- old Swiss-owned Lombard Odier, under which UnionBank will be able to gain access to the foreign firm’s expertise in family global wealth and asset management services.

“This partnership is a testament of our total commitment to our clients. The top notch global investment and family services expertise available through this alliance with Lombard Odier enables us to better grow and safeguard our clients’ wealth thru the long term, and ensures that they can pass this on safely to succeeding generations” Eugene S. Acevedo, UnionBank senior executive vice-president for retail and corporate banking, was quoted as saying in a statement on Thursday.

Sought for comment, UnionBank President and Chief Operating Officer Edwin R. Bautista said the alliance will help the lender’s clients gain hold of investment assets offshore.

“This is great for us because we can learn from them... Together, we’re working on a global fund so that our clients can have access to more investment assets outside the Philippines,” he told BusinessWorld in a phone interview yesterday.

Asked if the bank will be launching a new product anytime soon as a result of the collaboration, Mr. Bautista said, “There will be a new fund, [ a] foreign currency-denominated fund.”

According to the bank’s chief, the product will be rolled out by mid-year.

Services to be provided by Lombard Odier will be targeted towards UnionBank’s high net worth clients with family businesses. “That segment is large in the Philippines,” Mr. Bautista said.

“We think it is strategic, it gives us [and] our customers access to more investment outlets abroad, we bring in expertise from a private bank expert with global experience,” he said.

Lombard Odier is a global wealth and asset manager focused on providing solutions to private and institutional clients.

The firm had $ 230 billion worth of total client assets as of December 2016. Its services include succession planning, discretionary and advisory portfolio management, fiscal statements and custody services.

UnionBank saw its bottom line reach P10.1 billion in 2016, up 67.3% from the P6-billion profit it booked in 2015, on the back of an expansion in its total loan portfolio.

Shares in UnionBank lost five centavos or 0.06% to close at P79.65 apiece on Thursday.