AUB eyes top 20 ranking

Despite the gloomy economic outlook, Asian United Bank (AUB) is making aggressive moves to expand its operations in an attempt to break into the top 20 commercial banks in the country.

Owned by Republic Biscuit Co. (Rebisco) of businessman Jacinto Ng, AUB plans to expand its branch network from 18 to at least 60 branches over a three-year span aiming to increase its deposit base by more than 200 percent from P7 billion to P25 billion.

According to AUB executive vice president Victor Lim Jr., the bank aims to be among the 20 biggest commercial banks within three years as it opened its 18th branch yesterday in Pasig City.

According to Lim, AUB would be inaugurating its 21st branch within the year after it purchased six branches from the Singaporean-controlled United Overseas Bank.

AUB is poised to buy two more branches from Security Bank and, as of the second quarter of the year, the bank was ranked 36th with total assets of P10.36 billion, representing a 6.1 percent improvement from the previous quarter’s P9.76 billion.

Lim said the bank had allocated P5 million for the acquisition of a branch but he said the expansion plan was not restricted to branch acquisition.

"We are open to acquiring another bank and if a good opportunity for acquisition comes along, we will take a good look at it," Lim said.

AUB is 20 percent owned by Taiwan’s China United Trust and Investment Corp. and 10 percent by China Development Bank. The bank had earlier submitted an offer to rehabilitate Urban Bank last year but it was outdone by Bank of Commerce which eventually decided not to pursue they rehabilitation.

Lim said that owing to its lending policies, AUB’s non-performing loans (NPL) ratio was one of the lowest in the industry at about 2.6 percent of its total loan portfolio. – Des Ferriols