UnionBank reports net income in first 6 months, up 30%

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) reported yesterday it posted a 30% increase in its net income for the first half of the year – from R3.0 billion to R3.9 billion.

The bank attributed this significant growth recurring income from its net interest as well as their fee-based income.

The bank’s net interest income alone grew by 30% to R7.3 billion as a result of the year-on-year expansion in loan portfolio.

Meanwhile, its fees-based income grew by 11% to R2.0 billion which came from an expanded customer base in both loans and deposits. Meanwhile, other non-interest income was down, mainly as a result of lower trading gains. And as the bank focused on business and branch expansion during the first half of 2016, expenses grew by 6% to R5.3 billion.

“This significant increase shows that our income is definitely sustainable. Loans, investment, total deposits and digital channel growth – channels for our core income – were the key drivers. With this, we have been able to demonstrate the scalability of our infrastructure as well as our drive to further improve our products and services that take on a more customercentric approach,” said Edwin Bautista, president and chief operating officer of UnionBank.

UnionBank also reported that its total assets as of June, 2016 stood at R439 billion, which came in as relatively flat compared to year-end 2015. Higher yielding assets in the form of loans and investment securities posted double digit growth from year-end 2015 – loans and other receivables grew by 12% to R202 billion, which is attributed to the robust growth across all business segments; total investment securities, which are mostly at amortized cost, increased by 10% to R121 billion; and total deposits grew by 8% to R336 billion, with demand deposits posting a 10% year-todate increase to R115 billion.

Earlier this year, the bank set aside R1.0 billion for capital expenditure a large portion of which will go to its digitization efforts. UnionBank currently has 300 branches nationwide.