UnionBank of the Philippines

UnionBank is controlled by Aboitiz Equity Ventures, the publicly listed conglomerate of the Aboitiz family. Erramon Aboitiz serves as Chairman, while Edwin Bautista holds the President and CEO role. The family's influence runs through a multi-generational holding structure that prioritizes long-term balance-sheet stability over quarterly earnings pressure.

The 2022 deal added Citi's entire Philippine consumer book — roughly 1.7 million credit cardholders, a high-net-worth wealth management base, and 1,700 staff — to UnionBank's balance sheet. It instantly made UnionBank the third-largest credit card issuer in the country and gave it a premium retail liability franchise it had spent years trying to build organically.

Yes. UnionDigital Bank received its Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas license in 2022 and operates as a separate entity under the UnionBank umbrella. Its core book is unsecured consumer lending sourced through digital channels, distinct from UnionBank's branch-based deposit franchise. This creates a dual-license structure that peers like BDO or BPI do not maintain.

UBX is UnionBank's technology venture studio and embedded-finance arm. It developed the i2i blockchain network connecting rural banks across the Philippines for near-instant settlement, along with platforms for marketplace lending and B2B procurement. It functions as the innovation layer outside the regulated bank perimeter.

Beyond net interest income, the bank runs a trust and wealth management division with over PHP 130 billion in assets under management, invests in fintech startups through its corporate venture capital allocations, and holds real assets for its own account. The Citi acquisition also delivered a high-margin, fee-based credit-card revenue stream.