UNIONBANK of the Philippines has sufficient capital to support the planned integration of its digital banking subsidiary UnionDigital Bank, saying it is prepared to infuse the funds even if its request for regulatory capital relief is not approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
UnionBank President and CEO Ana Maria Aboitiz Delgado told reporters on Wednesday the bank’s request for capital relief in connection with the integration was largely procedural, as the necessary capital was already allocated within the parent lender.
“It’s actually just a procedural item. The capital is fully allocated in UnionBank, so it’s more part of the process,” she said.
The Aboitiz-led lender has sought regulatory relief from the central bank to avoid additional capital injections and deductions from its regulatory capital in connection with the planned consolidation.
Delgado assured that the bank was prepared to proceed with the planned capital infusion should the BSP reject its request.
“No problem, the capital is in UnionBank, so we’re ready to infuse it anytime,” she said.
This came as UnionBank moves forward with plans to consolidate its digital banking operations, which Delgado said would allow the lender to bring together the strengths of its subsidiaries and strengthen its overall banking proposition.
She emphasized that the subsidiary’s lack of profitability was not the reason behind the planned integration.
“This is for us an opportunity to bring together actually the strengths from all of our subsidiaries in UnionBank, which probably already has more digital capabilities than any of our subsidiaries,” she said.
She added that the integration would strengthen UnionBank’s digital banking proposition, while allowing it to benefit from the scale and capabilities that could be brought together under the parent bank.
“So, this is part of strengthening that proposition and then deriving efficiencies from the scale that we can derive and the capabilities that we bring into Union Bank,” Delgado noted.
UnionDigital Bank is one of the regulated digital banks in the Philippines.
Six other digital banks currently operate in the country: UNO Digital Bank, Tonik Digital Bank, GoTyme Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), Maya Bank and Maribank.
On Wednesday, UnionBank’s share price was unchanged at P20.85 apiece.
UNIONBANK of the Philippines has sufficient capital to support the planned integration of its digital banking subsidiary UnionDigital Bank, saying it is prepared to infuse the funds even if its request for regulatory capital relief is not approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
UnionBank President and CEO Ana Maria Aboitiz Delgado told reporters on Wednesday the bank’s request for capital relief in connection with the integration was largely procedural, as the necessary capital was already allocated within the parent lender.
“It’s actually just a procedural item. The capital is fully allocated in UnionBank, so it’s more part of the process,” she said.
The Aboitiz-led lender has sought regulatory relief from the central bank to avoid additional capital injections and deductions from its regulatory capital in connection with the planned consolidation.
Delgado assured that the bank was prepared to proceed with the planned capital infusion should the BSP reject its request.
“No problem, the capital is in UnionBank, so we’re ready to infuse it anytime,” she said.
This came as UnionBank moves forward with plans to consolidate its digital banking operations, which Delgado said would allow the lender to bring together the strengths of its subsidiaries and strengthen its overall banking proposition.
She emphasized that the subsidiary’s lack of profitability was not the reason behind the planned integration.
“This is for us an opportunity to bring together actually the strengths from all of our subsidiaries in UnionBank, which probably already has more digital capabilities than any of our subsidiaries,” she said.
She added that the integration would strengthen UnionBank’s digital banking proposition, while allowing it to benefit from the scale and capabilities that could be brought together under the parent bank.
“So, this is part of strengthening that proposition and then deriving efficiencies from the scale that we can derive and the capabilities that we bring into Union Bank,” Delgado noted.
UnionDigital Bank is one of the regulated digital banks in the Philippines.
Six other digital banks currently operate in the country: UNO Digital Bank, Tonik Digital Bank, GoTyme Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), Maya Bank and Maribank.
On Wednesday, UnionBank’s share price was unchanged at P20.85 apiece.
