Union Bank of the Philippines, one of the country’s major digital banks, reported that it earned P3.8 billion in the first three months of 2026. This is a big jump of 167% compared to what they made during the same period last year.
To put it simply, imagine if you earned P100 last year during January to March, and this year you earned P267 during the same months – that’s how much bigger UnionBank’s earnings grew!
What is UnionBank?
UnionBank is a universal bank that’s publicly listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange. It’s known as a leader in digital banking, which means they use a lot of technology and apps to help people manage their money. The bank is owned by big companies including Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV), the Social Security System (SSS), and Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd.
The bank serves customers through its popular mobile app called UnionBank Online and a business platform called The Portal.
Understanding the Bank’s Performance
According to the announcement made on April 24, 2026, UnionBank continued the good performance it started in the second half of 2025. When comparing just the previous quarter (October to December 2025) to this quarter (January to March 2026), their profit still grew by 8.7%.
The bank mentioned that even though there were some losses from trading because of market problems related to the Iran conflict, they still managed to perform well overall.
How the Bank Made Money
UnionBank’s total revenues reached P21.7 billion, which is 11.8% higher than the same period last year. Here’s how they did it:
More Customers
The bank now serves 18.9 million customers, which is 7.6% more than last year. Having more customers means more people can borrow money or use the bank’s services.
Earning from Loans
The bank earned P16.8 billion from net interest income, which is basically the money they make from lending. Think of it like this: when you lend your friend P100 and they give you back P110, that extra P10 is like interest income.
UnionBank gave out more loans in two main areas:
- Consumer loans (60% of total loans): These are loans to regular people. Unsecured loans (loans without collateral) grew by 19.2% to P153.1 billion
- Institutional loans: These are loans to businesses and organizations, which grew 11.5% to P223.7 billion
The bank’s net interest margin increased to 6.7%, which improved by 34 basis points. This happened because more people kept their money in CASA accounts (Current and Savings Accounts), which grew by 7.8%.
Fees from Services
The bank also earns money from fees when people use their services. Their fee income-to-assets ratio was 1.3%, which is more than twice what other banks typically earn. This came from more people using digital transactions, wealth management services, and bancassurance (insurance products sold by banks).
Better Credit Quality
Credit costs, which is the money set aside for loans that might not be paid back, went down by 17.9% compared to last year and improved by 19.1% from the previous quarter. The bank said this happened because their loans are performing better, especially after they fixed some problem loans in 2025 and improved how they manage risks.
What the Bank Says
Manuel R. Lozano, UnionBank’s Chief Financial Officer, explained that they’re continuing the improvements they started in 2025 when they worked to make their financial position stronger. However, he mentioned that recent geopolitical developments (like the Iran conflict) created some risks, so the bank took steps to protect their loan portfolio and improve how they manage credit risk.
Lozano emphasized that the bank has strong capital and liquidity (enough money available), and they’re focused on maintaining good performance despite the increased market volatility (ups and downs in the market).
Source Note:This article is based on the company’s official press release and disclosures filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange’s Electronic Disclosure Generation Technology (PSE EDGE) system. For the complete and official version of the announcement, readers may visit the PSE EDGE website and search for the company’s filing directly.
