Singapore, 5 June 2020 — UnionBank received Best Retail Bank in the Philippines at The Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Awards 2020.

UnionBank demonstrated a solid retail banking performance in 2019 which resulted to stronger revenue than previous years

The bank embarked on its transformation in 2015 and made strategic investments in infrastructure and organisation to become more agile and digital. In 2019, the bank began reaping the benefits of building its digital capabilities with improving profitability and cost-efficiencies. Its retail banking profit doubled in 2019 while cost to income ratio improved from the previous year as the bank continued to focus on its digital channels.

Customer experience and innovation are key competitive advantages of the bank

UnionBank maintains one of the leanest branch networks among local major players, which have been strategically located across the country and upgraded to conduct paperless and digital transactions. Its relationship managers are equipped with digital tools that enable predictive capabilities for client servicing. In 2019, the bank launched a retail loan platform supported by video KYC to enable straight-through processing of its products. This significantly brought down turnaround time to three minutes and generated growth in loan bookings. Union Bank also saw a record year for its retail deposits, which expanded by a double-digit rate from the previous year.

The bank harnessed digital capabilities in alleviating the impact of COVID-19

UnionBank has been tracking the pandemic on the onset, thus it was able to prepare its business and customer response immediately. In addition to relief measures for consumer debt, the bank is well placed to serve its clients digitally during the lockdown period. The bank saw a surge of new digital accounts, mobile app downloads and online logins since March. In addition, the bank is helping facilitate online donations for non-government organisations (NGOs) in the country through its UShare platform.  

The Asian Banker is the region’s most authoritative provider of strategic business intelligence to the financial services community. The Singapore-based company has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Manila, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Dubai, as well as representatives in London, New York, and San Francisco. It has a business model that revolves around three core business lines: publications, research services and forums. The company’s website is www.theasianbanker.com

For further information on the collaterals for winning banks, please contact:

Mr. Mobasher Zein Kazmi