PNB reports 82% expansion in assets under management

Tycoon Lucio Tan-led Philippine National Bank reported on Monday that assets under management (AUM) of its trust unit nearly doubled last year.

The bank’s AUM expanded by 82 percent to P55.6 billion from 2010 on the back of improved volumes of corporate and personal accounts.

PNB’s total corporate trust funds stood at P23.86 billion in 2011, up by 185 percent from a year before while personal accounts also expanded by 103 percent to end last year at P13.9 billion.

“We wanted to create a value proposition that is different from other available products in the market,” PNB trust officer and first senior vice president Rafael Ayuste Jr. said in a statement.

PNB introduced last year its branded employee benefit trust product, PNB Employee Enrichment Solutions (EES). “The product approaches employee benefits from the standpoint of addressing human resource issues in terms of talent attraction, retention and loyalty,” the banks said in a statement.

This product, according to Ayuste, delivered 14 retirement funds to the bank last year.

Ayuste also reported that the bank’s personal trust accounts had improved as the group provided products that meet clients’ return objectives as well as their long-term financial goals.

“At the end of the day, what we are building is a long-term relationship that looks after the best interest of our clients,” said Ayuste. “That means meeting their needs at every stage and aspect of their lives.”

PNB’s roster of products includes the retail unit investment trust funds (UITFs). The Mabuhay Prestige Fund, a balanced fund, consistently topped 14 other funds in its class for 45 consecutive weeks in terms of year-on-year absolute returns. For 2011, its average year-on-year returns since inception was 7 percent.

The bank’s peso money market fund, Mabuhay Prime, also consistently ranked in the top five performers among 17 other funds in the market with an average year-on-year return of 3 percent in 2011.

PNB is currently in the process of merging with subsidiary Allied Banking, which is expected to seal its No. 4 ranking in the industry.  “We are excited on the prospects that this development brings,” said Ayuste. “It provides us an even greater platform for strengthening our market base, and that includes our trust business.”