UNION Bank of the Philippines President and CEO Ana Maria Aboitiz Delgado was named to Forbes Asia’s 2026 Power Businesswomen list, which recognizes 20 female business leaders across the Asia-Pacific region.
The list, published on Nov. 2, features business executives and entrepreneurs from 12 countries and territories who help shape Asia’s economic transformation across industries, including banking, technology, retail and manufacturing.
Delgado assumed the top post at UnionBank in January 2025, following the lender’s completion of the integration of Citibank’s Philippine consumer banking business, which it acquired in 2022 for P72 billion.
“The acquisition strengthened our consumer franchise, expanded our capabilities and talent base, and gave us greater scale to serve a broader range of customer needs,” she said.
UnionBank had 19.5 million customers and P1.2 trillion in assets, making it the country’s ninth-largest lender, according to central bank data cited by Forbes Asia.
The recognition comes as the bank reported a 53-percent increase in net income to P9.9 billion in the first nine months of 2026.
The improvement followed a 17-percent decline in full-year 2025 net profit to P10 billion, which Forbes Asia attributed to higher provisions for nonperforming loans and costs related to the Citibank acquisition.
UnionBank attributed the earnings recovery to increased consumer lending, which accounted for 62 percent of its loan portfolio, and higher fees from wealth management services.
“Banking should be easier, more relevant, and more human,” Delgado told Forbes Asia.
She joined UnionBank as a management trainee in 2003 after earning a master’s degree in business administration from New York University’s Stern School of Business and working at Citibank Philippines.
Delgado later headed the bank’s consumer finance and small and medium enterprise banking divisions and led its digital transformation.
On Tuesday, UnionBank’s share price rose by 5 centavos to close at P20.85 each.
