UnionBank celebrates 25th listing anniversary
Union Bank of the Philippines celebrated yesterday its 25th listing anniversary at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
UnionBank made its debut at the Manila and Makati Exchanges on June 29, 1992, 10 years after it became a commercial bank. Since then, it has steadily grown to become one of the country’s Top 10 banks today.
It is also among the most profitable, both in terms of return on equity and return on assets.
“Over the last 25 years, our total assets have grown by over 40 times – from P12.8 billion in end-1992 to P519 billion in 2017,” UnionBank President and Chief Operating Officer Edwin Bautista said in his speech at the listing anniversary ceremony.
Last year, the Bank posted a recordhigh profit of P10.1 billion, and for the first quarter of 2017, booked P2.2 billion in net income.
In his welcome remarks, PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon said the country’s present sound economic fundamentals provide a good backdrop for continued demand for banking products and facilities.
“I am optimistic that given its competitive strengths, the consumer and commercial banking segments of UnionBank will benefit from this and its shareholders’ value and welfare will further be enhanced,” Monzon said.
In an effort to meet the changing needs of the times, UnionBank’s current thrust is digital transformation which consists of the following strategies: digitizing the bank, launching a digital bank through the EON card and engaging fintechs.
Known as a leader in digital innovation, UnionBank – which was the first lender to open a banking website and also the first to introduce online banking and electronic savings account – recently launched another breakthrough: the EON e- money account which introduced the selfie banking.
The Bank hopes this new prepaid debit card, which can be obtained at 7- eleven convenience stores and therefore is more accessible to the unbanked and underbanked, will expand its customer base in significant areas.
At the same time, the Bank also aspires to be a technology or fintech company with banking utilities, and aligned with this, wants to be known as the “most fintech-friendly bank in town.”
Bautista said if banks would not prepare, they would be gobbled up by digitization, or by fintechs or foreign banks that come in purely digital.
“This is our biggest challenge: to digitally transform today, or miss attending our 50th anniversary at the PSE 25 years from now. But rest assured that we do not intend to go down without a fight, or to even go down at all, but instead, to transform into what would still be the best version of ourselves. As we always say, the best is yet to come as we continue our drive to build a bank of enduring greatness. And that is a promise we intend to keep,” Bautista added.