AUB income up 21%

Medium-sized commercial bank Asia United Bank (AUB) has posted a net income of P431.5 million for the first half of the year, for an annualized return on equity (ROE) of 21 percent.

The strong performance came from wider loan margins, increased fees, commissions and trading activities, and better expense management. Total operating income grew by 46 percent compared to the same period last year, while growth in total operating expenses was kept to only 20 percent.

For the first quarter of this year, AUB posted P295-million net income translating to an annualized ROE of 24 percent, placing it fourth in the entire banking industry and number one among local banks, in terms of ROE.

In end June, the bank further increased its total capital base to P4.5 billion. Total assets stood at P22.6 billion, up by 23 percent from last year’s P18.4 billion, while total deposits likewise grew by 18 percent year-on-year, to P12.6 billion.

AUB targets a net income of P600 million this year, an increase of over 30 percent from the P457 million in 2004.

It already has a foothold in foreign trade transactions, and the wholesale or consumer market including personal and salary loans.

The bank has inroads in the remittances market through partnerships with foreign remittance agencies in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Spain. In 2003, remittance earnings nearly broke the $40 milllion barrier.

In that same year, AUB’s foreigh exchange business grew by 21.4 percent to $349.1 million from $287.5 million the year before. AUB is one of the very few banks that have been given a CAMELS rating of four, out of a highest rating of five, by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. "CAMELS" stands for Capital adequacy, Asset quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity and Sensitivity to market risks. The bank has consistently been rated a CAMELS 4 by BSP for the past four years.To date, Asia United Bank has a network of 26 branches - 17 in Metro Manila and nine in key provincial locations in Visayas and Mindanao.