UBS shuts down representative office in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Swiss banking giant UBS AG has officially closed its representative office in the Philippines, marking the end of its 28-year presence in the country, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced.

“The Monetary Board, in its Resolution 1468 dated Dec. 19, 2024, noted the cessation of operations of UBS AG Philippine Representative Office,” the central bank said via Circular 2025-002, issued by BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier on Jan. 8.

When asked about the decision, Fonacier described it as a strategic move for the bank. “It’s a strategic move on the part of UBS in closing its representative office in the Philippines,” Fonacier told The STAR.

The representative office was located at Ayala Triangle, Ayala Avenue in Makati City.

UBS, which first entered the Philippine market in 1996, has been a key player in providing financial advisory services in the region. However, the closure reflects the bank’s evolving business strategy amid a rapidly changing global financial landscape.

In July last year, the representative office of Zurich-based Credit Suisse AG has also ceased operations in the Philippines, six years after its launch in June 2018.

Credit Suisse and Switzerland’s biggest bank UBS announced that they have officially merged in May 2024, with UBS as the surviving entity.

All assets, liabilities and contracts of Credit Suisse AG have been transferred to UBS AG as a result of the merger.

With the impending closure of UBS AG, there will be eight remaining foreign banks operating representative offices in the Philippines.

These are the Bank of Singapore Ltd. Philippines, Bank of Taiwan, DBS Bank Ltd., Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Korea Eximbank, Rothschild (Singapore) Ltd., State of India and the Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank Ltd.

Foreign banks have been closing their representative offices in the Philippines over the years.

In April 2023, US-based Bank of New York Mellon shut down its representative office in the Philippines amid the global banking crisis that started with the collapse of American banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

In June 2021, Wells Fargo National Association closed down its representative office in Manila during the height of the pandemic. In December 2020, the Korea Development Bank – Representative Office in the Philippines also closed down amid the global health crisis.

The BSP allows foreign banks to open representative offices in the Philippines to provide information about the services or products they offer, but may not transact banking businesses, such as acceptance of deposits, issuance of letters of credit and foreign exchange trading.