Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) registered a 30 percent growth in net income to P3.4 billion in the first quarter of 2023 from same period last year. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bank said its net revenues, which largely came from recurring income, grew by 57 percent versus the first quarter of 2022 to P16.1 billion. Net interest income increased by 43 percent to P11.5 billion, propelled by the P3.0 billion contribution of the acquired Citi consumer business, as well as strong consumer loan growth in the parent bank, CitySavings, and UnionDigital. Despite the rising cost of funds, the Bank posted a net interest margin of 5.21 percent, 54 basis points higher than the same period last year. Furthermore, earning assets expanded by 28 percent to P894.9 billion compared to the year-ago level. Fees and other income, excluding trading income, increased by 82 percent to P4.2 billion versus 102022, driven by fees from the growing digital and card-related transactions. Total assets as of March 31, 2023 were at P1.1 trillion, 30 percent higher than the year-ago level. Net loans and receivables jumped to P490.0 billion, a 39 percent increase from last year. Total deposits climbed by 20 percent to P692.9 billion versus same period last year, owing to the healthy growth of the cash management and retail banking segments. "Our retail focus has allowed us to preserve our margins against a backdrop of continued policy rate hikes," said Union Bank Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Manuel R. Lozano. He added that, “We expect our core income to further improve throughout the year as we grow our consumer portfolio. Our expenses this year are still elevated due to one-offs, as we are effectively running on two systems to integrate the acquired Citi consumer business into ours.” “Once we complete the migration this year, we are confident that we will once again generate double digit Return on Equity,” Lozano noted. "The investments we made last year have exceeded our expectations. UnionDigital is already profitable after less than a year in operation," said Union Bank President and CEO Edwin R. Bautista. He added that, “There is strong momentum in the acquired credit cards business from Citi. New-to-bank card customers are at a record level.” “We are geared up to grow our retail banking business. Our infrastructure is ready for scale. We have sufficient capital coming from the recent stock rights offering to further grow our earning asset base,” Bautista stressed.