Corporate Profile

Business Development

History

Asia United Bank Corporation (AUB) is among the very few banks that was granted a full-branch commercial bank license in 1997 and is operating until this day. In 2013, AUB joined the league of Philippine Banks that have become publicly listed and acquired universal banking status.

AUB was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 3, 1997. Its registered office and principal executive offices are located at Joy-Nostalg Center, 17 ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines.

AUB was granted the authority to operate as a commercial bank under the Monetary Board (MB) Resolution No. 1149 dated September 3, 1997 and commenced operations on October 31, 1997. In 2012, it obtained approval from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to upgrade its license into expanded commercial banking status. In 2013, the Bank was granted an authority to operate as a universal bank under MB Resolution No. 356 dated February 28, 2013. The universal banking license authorizes, AUB, in addition to its general powers as a commercial bank, to exercise the following: (1) Powers of an investment house, including securities underwriting and trading, loan syndication, financial advisory, private placement of debt and equity securities, project finance and direct equity investment, and (2) Power to invest in allied and non-allied enterprises, subject to regulatory caps on the amount of investment relative to the Bank’s capital and ownership percentage.

AUB began as a joint venture between a consortium of Filipino Industrialists (namely Jacinto L. Ng, Sr., Luis U. Ang and Jose S. Sandejas) and Taiwanese investment banks (namely China United Trust & Investment Corporation and China Development Industrial Bank). As of December 31, 2013, the Bank is now a publicly listed company with three principal/substantial stockholders: Republic Biscuit Corporation, Kuo Yu Philippines Holdings Corporation, and Lambda Holdings Corporation.

To expand its business and distribution network, AUB has three subsidiaries as of September 30, 2021.

Review of the Past Three Years

Over the past three years, AUB has been steadily growing by building a strong and loyal client base through its careful and focused client generation activities and technological innovations for both its deposit-taking and lending businesses.

*Includes micro-banking offices

In 2018, the group sustained its growth with a 16% increase in net income to P3.287 billion from P2.826 Billion a year ago. This is primarily due to the 35% increase in Interest income from Loans and receivables.

Total assets increased to P238 billion as of December 31, 2018, 19% higher than the asset level in 2017.

In 2019, the group earned P 4.441 billion in net income, 35% higher than its P 3.287 billion net income in 2018. The increase came from the 28% increase in interest income from loans and receivables plus the 331% increase in net Trading and Securities gain.

During the year, the Group reached out to more customers by expanding its consolidated distribution network to 267 branches, with the Parent bank ending the year with 226 branches.

AUB’s achievements can be attributed to its principal competitive strengths:

• Consistent balance sheet growth and profitability driven by an efficient operational structure;
• Expanding nationwide distribution network resulting in consistently expanding deposit base
• Solid core customer base among SME’s and corporations and a growing retail base
• Tailored and innovative customer service and touch points supported by an advanced IT system
• Prudent balance sheet management with strong capitalization and liquidity to support growth; and
• Highly-experienced management team with proven track record

In 2020, the group faced with challenges of Covid-19 pandemic resulted to a P2.800 billion net income, 37% lower than previous year’s net income of P4.441 billion. The group managed to increase its Net Interest income by 35% from P4.6 billion in 2019 to P2.9 billion in 2020 mainly due to retirement of high cost deposits and its non-interest bearing income by 55% from P2.7 billion in 2019 to P4.2 billion in 2020 mainly due to Gain on sale of investment securities at amortized cost.

These increases were offset, however, by the P4.3 billion increase in provision for losses from P1.1 billion in 2019 to P5.4 billion in 2020 due to increased provision in loans portfolio as the bank considered the effect of the pandemic.

AUB’s achievements can be attributed to its principal competitive strengths:

In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic, AUB reaped a string of awards and recognitions from prestigious global award-giving bodies. These awards are concrete proof that AUB has the agility to turn a crisis into an opportunity:

Forbes Asia’s 2020 Best Under a Billion – AUB was recognized by Forbes for having a consistent top and bottom line growth along with 200 top-performing publicly listed companies with less than $1 billion in revenue.

One of the Strongest Banks in Asia – Singapore-headquartered TAB International Pte. Ltd., in its publication, The Asian Banker, listed AUB as one of the 500 strongest banks by balance sheet evaluation in the Asia Pacific in 2020. AUB placed 3rd in the Philippines and 52nd in the region. Of the 6 indicators used in the ranking, we scored the highest in 5: Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), Return on Assets (ROA), Cost-Income Ratio (CIR), loan loss reserves, and liquid assets.

Best Managed Fund 2020 – For the second time, our AUB Equity Investment Fund received the Best Managed Fund Award for the Equity Peso category from the CFA Society Philippines. For the past five years, AUB has won the award, including Best Dollar Medium Term Bond Fund for the AUB Gold Dollar Fund four years in a row since 2016.

Best Cash Management Bank – Philippines 2020: The Annual Global Business Outlook Awards gave this recognition for our pioneering cash management solution, AUB BizKit. This is given to companies for their innovation, achievement, and strategy.