UnionBank boss bullish on loan explosion despite rate hikes

MANILA, Philippines — Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) is bullish on its consumer loan segment expanding further hits year, despite borrowing costs turning expensive amid the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ aggressive interest rate hikes.

“We wanna grow three times more the market size,” UBP president and CEO Edwin Bautista told journalists on the sidelines of an event on Wednesday.

Bautista was alluding to their consumer loan segment. Its latest earnings report showed UBP witnessed net loans and receivables surged 39% on-year to P490 billion in the first quarter.

Latest data showed bank lending is slowing down, as interest rates climb higher. Banks and financial institutions use the BSP’s key policy rate, currently at 6.25%, as a benchmark for loans.

As it is, the UBP boss reckoned that its digital banking segment, UnionDigital, was handing out consumer loans by the bunch.

“Right now, they’re booking P3 billion in new loans every month in UnionDigital,” he added.

Their digital banking arm is expected to benefit from positive base effects, since the base is zero according to Bautista.

Likewise, its consumer segment will benefit from the sheen of their acquisition of American banking giant Citibank’s domestic assets.

Shares in UBP closed trading 0.57% up at P79.65 apiece on Wednesday. — Ramon Royandoyan