BUSINESS

UnionBank moves up in TIME global ranking

Toby Magsaysay · Sep 16, 2026, 11:26 PM

OWNED by the Aboitiz Group, UnionBank was the first local bank in the Philippines to introduce online banking, mobile check deposits, and a fully digital branch concept (‘The Ark’). It was an early adopter of cloud-based banking infrastructure and launched dedicated digital solutions like UPay to help small and medium enterprises collect digital payments seamlessly. — Photograph courtesy of International Banker

Union Bank of the Philippines moved up 83 places in TIME magazine’s World’s Best Companies 2026 ranking, making it the only Philippine company among the four local firms on this year’s list to improve its position from a year earlier.

UnionBank ranked 681st among 1,000 companies worldwide, up from 764th in 2025, according to the 2026 ranking. The bank was also the second-highest-ranked Philippine company on this year’s list, behind only Security Bank Corp., which placed 508th.

Top performing companies around the globe

TIME’s ranking evaluates “top performing companies around the globe based on evaluations of employee satisfaction, revenue growth, and sustainability transparency.” The Aboitiz-led lender earned an employer sub-ranking of 104, with a growth sub-ranking of “high.”

UnionBank’s higher ranking comes as the Aboitiz-led lender continues to build on its digital banking operations and consumer-focused business following the integration of Citigroup’s Philippine consumer banking business in 2024.

The bank reported P10 billion in net income in 2025, while its net revenues reached P83.1 billion, up 7 percent year-on-year, according to its 2025 annual report.

Its retail customer base grew 9.7 percent to 18.6 million, with nearly 6 million users on its mobile application.

More than double its net income in first half of 2026

That momentum carried over into the first half of 2026, with the company reporting more than double the net income in the first half of 2026 at P6.9 billion, up 113 percent from a year earlier. The increase was driven by continued strength in its core businesses, higher lending and stronger fee income.

The bank has positioned digital transformation and data-driven banking as central to its strategy, with UnionBank Online and The Portal serving its retail, small and medium enterprise, and corporate customers. It also operates UBX, its open finance platform, and UnionDigital, the digital bank owned by a publicly listed Philippine bank.

For this year, UnionBank said it is focusing on using customer data to improve decision-making and personalize services while strengthening reliability, security, operational resilience and risk management.

Digital capabilities expansion

The bank said it also plans to expand its digital capabilities, increase efficiency through intelligent automation and broaden ecosystem connectivity as it pursues growth across its retail, SME and consumer finance businesses.