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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider UNObank to break even by early 2026, outpacing digital bank norms

UNObank to break even by early 2026, outpacing digital bank norms

Published Oct 28, 2025 09:54 pm

At A Glance

  • UNO Digital Bank expects to achieve profitability ahead of the industry norm as it ramps up loan disbursements and expands product offerings, targeting to break even by the first half of 2026.
UNObank Co-founder and CEO Manish Bhai
UNObank Co-founder and CEO Manish Bhai
UNO Digital Bank expects to achieve profitability ahead of the industry norm as it ramps up loan disbursements and expands product offerings, targeting to break even by the first half of 2026.
“Our target is to hit operating breakeven within the first half [of 2026] and then hit full breakeven within a year. Right now, we seem to be on track to that target,” UNObank Co-founder and CEO Manish Bhai said during a roundtable discussion with the media on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
Bhai asserted that digital banks typically take seven years to turn profitable, but UNObank, after securing a digital banking license in 2021 and launching the UNO digital app in 2022, is on track to become profitable faster than expected.
“We wanted to do it in four years for a standalone bank,” Bhai said.
In particular, UNObank aims to nearly quadruple loan disbursements to over ₱30 billion in 2026, from its total loan book of around ₱8.3 billion as of end-September, banking on its company tie-ups.
UNObank currently offers three main loan products: UNOnow, a cash loan; UNOeasy, a sales finance product available in retail stores; and UNO@Work, a salary loan for employees through company tie-ups.
It also plans to launch a new salary loan product by year-end, which is expected to reach up to 500,000 new customers.
For small and medium enterprises taking their first steps into formal banking, UNObiz and UNO Enterprise provide tailored solutions to help them grow and manage operations efficiently.
Previously, the digital bank had no presence in SM stores, but with its strategy now tied to expanding partnerships, it will soon be available in SM stores.
“When you put all these things together, there’s a potential to increase your loan disbursements by a very big amount,” Bhai said.
From January to September, the digital bank's loan disbursements totaled ₱3.5 billion.
On the security front, Chief Technology Officer Chito Africa assured that UNObank is compliant with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) requirements, particularly in establishing a sophisticated fraud management system (FMS) to deter cybercrime.
“Even before the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) law and the FMS, we already had that fraud management system in place to protect our customers from these unscrupulous acts by threat actors and scammers,” UNObank Chief Compliance Officer Romel Meniado said.
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