The Union Bank of the Philippines ( UBP ) is set to raise fresh capital through various funding initiatives.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the lender says it is looking to issue up to US$800 million ( 45.82 billion pesos ), or its equivalent in other currencies, under its Euro Medium Term Note ( EMTN ) programme.

The EMTN was established in November 2017 and updated in October 2020. It has a current programme size of US$2 billion, with a remaining balance of US$1.2 billion available for issuance, the bank says. 

The fund raising was approved during the bank’s board of directors meeting on February 28. 

In the same meeting, the lender’s board also approved the doubling of its peso bond programme to 100 billion pesos ( US$1.74 billion ) from 50 billion pesos, with an initial issuance of up to 30 billion pesos.

UnionBank has yet to provide a timeline and other details for the issuances, but said part of the proceeds will be used to bolster its digital offerings.

The bank has approved a 1.2 billion peso capital infusion into UnionDigital Bank, its fully digital banking arm. The additional capital will support its “ongoing business operations and enable it to deliver sustainable growth, subject to the applicable regulatory approvals”, UBP says. 

UnionDigital is one of six banks that hold digital banking licences in the Philippines, allowing them to operate in a purely digital manner, with no physical brick-and-mortar branches.

In addition to UnionDigital, other digital banks in the Philippines include GoTyme Bank, Maya Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank, Tonik Digital Bank, and Uno Digital Bank.