THE Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines (Unionbank) partnered with the central bank and the ATRAM Trust Corp. to digitize the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) ecosystem.
By embedding this voluntary retirement program into its core mobile application, Unionbank is positioning itself as a leader in long-term wealth solutions, leveraging average total cost fund management expertise and the central bank’s regulatory framework to streamline the customer onboarding journey, a statement issued by the lender read.
With the evolving economic landscape, government-mandated pension programs such as the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS), as well as employer-provided retirement plans, may not always be sufficient to meet future needs, according to the lender. The PERA offers an additional layer of financial support, empowering customers to take a more proactive approach to financial planning-whether for retirement, long-term goals, or added financial security. According to Unionbank, it has created a ‘fully-digital PERA experience that allows customers to open an account without filling out lengthy forms or uploading multiple documents.’ Once onboarded, customers can begin growing their long-term and retirement savings through investment products accredited by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The lender said ATC will play an administrative role providing customers with a range of investment products to choose from.
The announcement on the PERA integration came after Unionbank disclosed last Monday of having posted a net income of P3.8 billion in the first three months of the year, more than double from the previous year’s P1.43 billion. The bank said it was able to continue with the momentum that started in the second half last year, when it saw a significant earnings uptrend, despite some trading losses arising from market volatility associated with the Iran conflict.
Last week, Unionbank was flagged by Moody’s Ratings as being more exposed to risks arising from ‘shrinking’ financial buffers of retail borrowers amid higher inflation.
Moody’s Ratings said last Monday that UBP had the largest share of retail loans among its rated Philippine banks at around 60 percent of its total loans, while unsecured retail loans accounted for around 40 percent of its total loans. ‘We view the latter as a relative weakness because this asset class has underperformed compared to corporate loans,’ said Moody’s Ratings.