UnionBank sees 2017 net income drop by 16.4% to P8.42 billion

MANILA, Philippines— Aboitiz-led UnionBank of the Philippines (UnionBank) saw its net income drop 16.4% on lower trading gains on the year.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, January 26, UnionBank said it saw a net income of P8.42 billion in 2017 compared to the P10.07 billion recorded last year.

This was as gains from the sale of trading and non-trading financial assets dropped by 93% to P266.58 million last year from P3.81 billion in 2016.

The bank noted, however, that excluding last year’s one-time gains from securities trading, core income was up by a 30.4% to P8.2 billion from P6.3 billion a year ago.

It added that Return on Equity and Return on Average Assets grew by 12.4% and 1.5%, respectively. UnionBank also had a cost-to-income ratio of 53.9%.

UnionBank’s interest income meanwhile was up 22.2% to P24.58 billion from P20.11 billion while interest expense grew faster at 31.7% to P6.94 billion from P5.27 billion in 2016 due to higher deposit liabilities.

The bank also saw its loan portfolio grow 19.4%to P281 billion in 2017 while its deposit base rose 18.9% to P447.6 billion. This helped total assets expand by 18.6% to reach P622.1 billion.

“We are pleased to continue making major headway on both our business and digital transformation strategies.  Financial results were driven by recurring income across all customer business segments,” said UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista.

In November of last the bank launched its first fully digital branch, “The Ark,” which featured no bank tellers. – Rappler.com