Asia United Bank (AUB) is optimistic it will achieve its income and lending targets this year despite external headwinds, the bank’s president said.
AUB President Manuel Gomez said they were able to sustain the bank’s profitability since the pandemic, which he said was “no mean feat.” They did this by focusing on their core business and digital operations.
He said the bank will continue to reach out to the unbanked sector and help would-be depositors in these underserved areas have economic mobility.
AUB and its subsidiaries — owned by businessman Jacinto Ng Sr. of Rebisco — recently announced first-half net earnings of P6.1 billion, up 17 percent from P5.2 billion in the same period in 2024.
AUB said this was the group’s highest first-half income since 2022, when it posted P6.3 billion.
The bank is hopeful they will achieve their performance targets this year despite the downgraded growth target and the external risks coming from the tariffs and trade uncertainty, as well as geopolitical tensions.
The government has a lower GDP target of 5.5-6.5 percent for 2025 from the previous 6-8 percent.
Last week, the AUB group reported total revenues of P11.2 billion for the first six months, up 13 percent from P9.9 billion in the same period last year.
Earning assets increased by 21 percent to P382.6 billion from P316.5 billion, while its net interest margin rose 7 percent to P8.8 billion.
Meanwhile, non-interest income from trading and foreign exchange gains and other fees and charges grew by 40 percent to P2.4 billion.
Due to higher capital expenditures, the group’s operating expenses increased by 8 percent to P3.6 billion while its cost-to-income ratio remained low at 32.2 percent due to sustained operational efficiency, the bank said.
For the January to June period, AUB’s total loan portfolio grew 36 percent to P255.6 billion from P187.9 billion. Its total deposits also went up by 16 percent year-on-year to P325.8 billion.
Total assets, on the other hand, increased by 16 percent to P404.5 billion from P349.0 billion, while total equity rose 26 percent to P64.9 billion from P51.4 billion because of retained earnings.
As of end-June, the bank’s indicative common equity tier 1 ratio stood at 18.13 percent while its capital adequacy ratio was at 18.85 percent.
