Founding The bank was originally incorporated as “Union Savings and Mortgage Bank” on August 16, 1968. After the initial public offering the bank's shares were listed at the
Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on June 29, 1992.
Licensing as universal bank On July 15, 1992, the bank was granted the license to operate as a universal bank and changed its current name to
Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP).
Mergers and acquisitions In 1993, UnionBank merged with International Corporate Bank ("Interbank") and in 2006, another merger with International Exchange Bank ("iBank") followed (after first being denied by iBank). In 2013, UnionBank acquired
City Savings Bank, making City Savings Bank a 100% UnionBank subsidiary and consolidating Aboitiz group's banking units. On December 23, 2021, it struck an agreement to acquire the consumer banking operations of
Citibank Philippines from
Citigroup for . The deal was closed effective 1 August 2022.
Opening of UnionDigital In 2021, UnionBank was one of only six applicants licensed by the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to open a
digital bank, prior to its announcement of a three-year moratorium on digital bank licenses. This means that UnionBank's new Digital Bank, known as Union Digital Bank (UnionDigital) will be one of only six digital banks in the Philippines for at least three years, alongside Overseas Filipino Bank, Tonik Digital Bank, UNObank,
GOtyme, and
Maya Bank. On July 12, 2022, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas granted UnionDigital the Certificate of Authority to Operate. It commenced operations on July 18 as UnionDigital Bank Inc. In November of the same year, UnionBank's digital banking unit EON merged its operations with UnionDigital Bank. however, UnionDigital Bank continued its existing EON's products and services to its customers after a transition until May 31, 2023.
Launch of crypto services UnionBank is one of the first financial institutions in the Philippines to adopt
cryptocurrency, and was the first local lender to release its own stablecoin in 2019, named PHX, which gives rural banks easier access to remittance and payments. In 2019, the bank also launched crypto ATMs that allow its account holders with
crypto wallets to withdraw cash that is converted from crypto as well as trade on the spot. In January 2022, there were reports confirming that UnionBank plans to launch crypto trading and custodial services.
Change of leadership In June 2024, Edwin Bautista, stepped down from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UnionBank and was to be replaced by the bank's Senior Vice President, Ana Maria Aboitiz Delgado, beginning January 1, 2025. ==Subsidiaries and Affiliates==