DIGITAL BANK UNObank, Inc. (UNO Digital Bank) is targeting to break even by next year as it works to ramp up its loan disbursements by expanding its product base.

“Profitability is very important… We will be in our fourth year next year. So, of course our target is to hit operating breakeven within the first half, and then hit full breakeven within the year,” Manish Bhai, UNO Digital Bank president and chief executive officer, said at a media briefing on Tuesday.

“And right now, we seem to be on track to that.”

He added that digital banks normally take around seven years to turn profitable, with a few exceptions. Based on available data, only two of the six digital banks currently operating in the Philippines were profitable in 2024.

UNO Digital Bank booked a net loss of P1.04 billion in 2024, wider than the P653.5-million loss it posted in 2023, based on its annual report. This was mainly due to higher operating expenses that offset the increases seen in its net interest income and other earnings.

It was granted a digital banking license in 2021 and launched its mobile app in 2022. It began offering loans in 2023 and other products and services like insurance and bills payment in 2024.

UNO Digital Bank now has over four million users, it said on Tuesday.

Mr. Bhai said they hope to bring their loan releases to over P30 billion by end-2026.

“We have already disbursed loans of over P8 billion for a company which is not part of any conglomerate… We wish that number was double, but there are some challenges out there,” he said.

“We are trying to work and make sure that by the end of next year, that number stands at over P30 billion.”

The bank’s product offerings include its base savings account UNOready, high interest savings account UNOboost, time deposit UNOearn, cash loan UNOnow, sales finance UNOeasy and salary loan UNO@work.

Mr. Bhai said they are also planning to launch a new salary loan product before yearend, which they expect to help attract new customers.

“There’s a product which we’ll be launching in a month’s time. It is purposely kept under wraps,” he said. “It’s a salary loan product which will be a game changer… That, straightaway, will give us access to 400,000 to 500,000 new customers.”

He added that they are also looking to expand their touch points by expanding their merchant partnerships.

“So, you see, when you put all these things together, there’s a potential to increase your loan disbursements by a very big amount,” Mr. Bhai said.

Based on its latest balance sheet posted on the central bank’s website, UNO Digital Bank’s assets stood at P10.22 billion at end-June.

Its gross loan portfolio was at P3.08 billion, up from P2.69 billion a year prior, with its gross nonperforming loan ratio at 10.96%, down from 15.41%.

Meanwhile, deposits were at P7.83 billion as of June, rising from P7.55 billion previously. — K.K. Chan