MANILA — Union Bank of the Philippines' digital bank UnionDigital on Wednesday said it has reached $70 million in loan book size and $50 million in deposits during the first 4 months of operations.

In a statement, it said it has also 1.73 million customers during the same period.

“Since our launch, UnionDigital Bank has been focusing on serving the needs of the underserved communities within UnionBank by offering digital deposit and lending products to our ecosystem, and we will continue to support the needs of these customers with additional products overtime,” said UnionDigital Bank co-founder, President, and CEO Arvie de Vera.

“As a bank we’re very clear: it’s not just about having a cool app or millions of users who don’t generate revenue - it’s about a balance sheet. It’s about growing the loan book because that’s where the revenues come from- it doesn’t come from payments, it doesn’t come from sign ups. Valuation is great, but it’s not profitability," he said.

The growth in its loan book is partly due to the available data on consumer behavior within the larger Aboitiz ecosystem, the bank said.

"If you have robust set of data with context on their financial behavior, then you can properly price the risk, because you have historical data on the customer, you know you can give him a customized interest rate. A one-size-fits-all pricing is an inappropriate lending business strategy and sub-optimal consumer experience," de Vera said.

In addition, UnionDigital said it has onboarded the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX) as its first corporate account customer.

UnionDigital is among the 6 digital banks licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. So far, the UnionDigital Bank is live for select customers.

• UnionBank to inaugurate innovation campus in Laguna
• UnionBank says digital subsidiary UnionDigital has started operations
• UnionBank eyes launch of digital bank UnionDigital in July

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more News on iWantTFC