AUB targets building 30 branches yearly

ASIA United Bank Corp. said on Thursday it is targeting to build 30 branches yearly in line with its vision to expand its portfolio as it aspires to become one of the top 10 banks in the Philippines.

“Right now we have 229 existing banks. With the average, we’re eyeing to put up perhaps 30 branches a year. Not that much,” AUB President Abraham Co told reporters following the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting held in Pasig City.

He said the company will be allotting P210 million to this initiative, noting that each branch costs about P7 million to put up.

Co said the additional branches will be put up near malls in the country.

“Where there are many malls. That is where the growth is, you see. Normally you will notice that there’s growth there,” he said.

Co added he remains positive on AUB’s outlook for the next three years.

“On the assumption that the economy will also grow as most people [have] projected, so it normally rises on the economy, so it [the outlook for the business] should be the same,” he said.

AUB aims to aggressively grow its retail lending this year as well as increase its low-cost funding sources. It also plans to increase the deposit to loan ratio to sustain a high capital adequacy ratio.

AUB currently has 112 branches in Metro Manila while the 129 others are located in the provinces. As of June 2017, the number of its employees was pegged at 2,234.

At the same meeting, AUB declared a cash dividend of P1 per share or a total dividend payout of P485 million, payable to all common shareholders of record as of July 7, 2017.

Incorporated in 1997, AUB is a commercial bank that provides a wide range of banking and other account products, credit and loan facilities, treasury, international banking services, and auxiliary services.