Union Bank 9-month net jumps 122% to P8.1B

Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines grew its nine-month net profit by 122 percent year-on-year to P8.1 billion on higher interest and fee-based earnings as well as securities trading gains.

“Our customer businesses grew faster than anticipated. We are ahead in delivering our financial goals for 2016,” Jesus Roberto Reyes, Union Bank chief finance officer and treasurer, said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Net interest income in the nine-month period rose by P2.2 billion to P10.9 billion while fees were up by P400 million to P3.2 billion.

The January to September earnings were also supported by profit from securities sold to support the bank’s loan growth.

Total loan book rose by 34.7 percent year-on-year to P221.2 billion.  On the funding side, total deposits rose by 25.1 percent to P364 billion, with low-cost deposits rising by 17.3 percent.

The combined growth in customer loans and deposits contributed to the expansion in recurring revenue by P2.6 billion to P14.1 billion compared to the previous year’s level.

The nine-month performance translated to an annualized return on equity of 17.3 percent and return on assets of 2.4 percent for the bank. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla