UNIONBANK OF THE Philippines, Inc. launched its private banking services to offer wealth management for ultra-high net worth individuals and families.
In a press conference in Taguig on Thursday, the Aboitiz-led lender launched UnionBank Private Banking in partnership with private bank Lombard Odier (Singapore) Ltd.
“In UnionBank, we realized that there’s ever-evolving and changes in the area of private banking. It can be quite a challenge to address complicated financial solutions for our customers,” UnionBank Head of Private Banking Arlene Joan R. Tanjuaquio-Agustin told reporters yesterday.
“We need to address that and we aim to provide our customers expertise in wealth management and advisory as well as access to global investments.”
UnionBank Private Banking will also provide advisory on family services such as succession planning, wealth structuring, and philanthropy.
The private lending subsidiary of UnionBank targets individuals and families with a net worth of at least P100 million.
Apart from local relationship managers for face-to-face banking, the private lender will also provide an online platform to enable clients easier access to their investment portfolio with analytics.
“We will give the return on their investment when they go to the portal. We will also have timely and comprehensive reports which will be available on-demand,” Ms. Tanjuaquio-Agustin said.
Jose Emmanuel U. Hilado, UnionBank treasurer and chief finance officer, said the private bank eyes to grow assets under their management by 25% annually.
The partnership between UnionBank and Swiss private bank Lombard Odier stemmed as early as 2016 to provide the clients of the local bank access to the latter’s diversified and risk-based investment solutions and wealth management expertise.
In 2017, UnionBank launched a multi-currency fund of funds denominated in dollars and pesos, with the Swiss lender acting as a third-party investment consultant.
“As individual wealth increases, unique challenges are created. With the launch of this dedicated private banking arm, we will draw on the strength of our partnership to help clients better navigate these challenges,” Lombard Odier Group managing partner Annika Falkengren said.
Within the next five years, UnionBank President and Chief Executive Officer Edwin R. Bautista said its vision is to be one of the best and top-of-mind private banks in the country.
“Private banking is about understanding the client and providing the best advisers. We aim to deploy the best-trained and best-equipped private bankers,” he said.
Shares in the bank stood at P60.50 apiece on Thursday, flat from the previous close. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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