UnionBank CEO makes Forbes Asia power businesswomen list

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UnionBank CEO Forbes Asia list

Highlights

UnionBank CEO-elect Delfin Jay Delgado is named to the Forbes Asia 2026 Power Businesswomen list following the bank's P72 billion Citibank Philippine consumer business acquisition.
UnionBank's net income declined 17% to P10 billion in 2025 due to Citibank integration costs, then rebounded 53% to P9.9 billion for the first nine months of 2026.
Consumer loans comprise 62% of UnionBank's portfolio post-acquisition, underscoring increased exposure to and reliance on retail banking growth.

Recognition follows consumer banking expansion

As reported by BusinessWorld Online, Delgado appears in the annual list released on Nov. 2, which features executives and entrepreneurs leading companies across sectors including financial services, retail, technology, and manufacturing.

She takes UnionBank’s top post in January 2025 after the lender completes the integration of Citibank’s Philippine consumer banking business, which it acquires in 2022 for P72 billion. In its profile, Forbes Asia says UnionBank has 19.5 million customers and P1.2 trillion in assets, making it the Philippines' ninth-largest lender based on central bank data.

In an interview with Forbes Asia, Delgado says the Citibank acquisition expands UnionBank’s consumer banking operations and capabilities. She says the deal strengthens the bank’s consumer franchise, broadens its talent base, and gives it greater scale to serve a wider range of customer needs.

Earnings recovery supports leadership profile

UnionBank reports a 17% decline in net income to P10 billion in 2025, partly due to higher provisions for nonperforming loans and expenses tied to the Citibank acquisition.

Its earnings recover in the first nine months of 2026, with net profit rising 53% to P9.9 billion, helped by stronger consumer lending and higher fees from wealth management services. Consumer loans account for 62% of the bank’s loan portfolio, underscoring the weight of retail banking in its business mix.

Delgado joins UnionBank in 2003 as a management trainee after earning an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and working at Citibank Philippines. She later leads the bank’s consumer finance and small and medium enterprise banking divisions, as well as its digital transformation initiatives.

Forbes Asia Editorial Director Rana Wehbe Watson says the 2026 list highlights leaders in industries undergoing significant change. She says the honorees are helping reshape the regional economy, from supporting AI infrastructure demand to modernizing sectors such as retail and finance.

Our earlier coverage of the Philippines’ planned sovereign bond reforms explained how a new pricing convention for peso-denominated government bonds and expected index inclusion could broaden the investor base and improve liquidity. It also noted that lower yields and deeper capital-market benefits are not automatic, hinging on global rates, fiscal credibility, and wider structural reforms to strengthen corporate financing and productive investment.

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