UNION Bank of the Philippines, Inc. (UnionBank) President and Chief Executive Officer Ana Maria Aboitiz Delgado has been included in Forbes Asia’s 2026 Power Businesswomen list, which recognizes 20 female business leaders across the Asia-Pacific region.
Ms. Delgado was among the executives and entrepreneurs featured in the annual list released on Nov. 2, which highlights women leading businesses across industries, including financial services, retail, technology, and manufacturing.
She assumed the top post at UnionBank in January 2025, following the completion of the lender’s integration of Citibank’s Philippine consumer banking business, which it acquired in 2022 for P72 billion.
In its profile, Forbes Asia noted that UnionBank had 19.5 million customers and P1.2 trillion in assets, making it the country’s ninth-largest lender based on central bank data.
UnionBank reported a 17% decline in net income to P10 billion in 2025, partly due to higher provisions for nonperforming loans and expenses related to the Citibank acquisition.
However, its earnings recovered in the first nine months of 2026, with net profit rising 53% to P9.9 billion, driven by stronger consumer lending and higher fees from wealth management services.
Consumer loans accounted for 62% of the bank’s loan portfolio.
In an interview with Forbes Asia, Ms. Delgado said the Citibank acquisition had expanded UnionBank’s consumer banking operations and capabilities.
“The acquisition strengthened our consumer franchise, expanded our capabilities and talent base, and gave us greater scale to serve a broader range of customer needs,” she said.
Ms. Delgado joined UnionBank in 2003 as a management trainee after earning a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business and working at Citibank Philippines.
She later headed the bank’s consumer finance and small and medium enterprise banking divisions and led its digital transformation initiatives.
On the bank’s approach to customer service, Ms. Delgado told Forbes Asia: “Banking should be easier, more relevant, and more human.”
Forbes Asia Editorial Director Rana Wehbe Watson said the latest list includes business leaders from industries undergoing significant changes.
“The 2026 Forbes Asia’s Power Businesswomen list spotlights a new roster of 20 trailblazing entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and next-generation family leaders,” Ms. Watson said.
“They are actively transforming the region’s economy—from supplying critical hardware behind the AI infrastructure boom to modernizing sectors like retail and finance,” she added.
The Philippines had two representatives in the 2025 edition: Ayala Corp. Managing Director Mariana Zobel de Ayala and Robinsons Land Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Mybelle V. Aragon-GoBio.
Other executives featured in the 2026 list include Wang Xin, founder, chairman, and general manager of China’s Guangdong Dtech Technology, which supplies precision manufacturing equipment used in producing printed circuit boards for artificial intelligence (AI) chips.
Also included are Lee Sun-jung, chief executive officer of South Korea’s CJ Olive Young; Thapanee Techajareonvikul, the first woman to lead Thailand-listed conglomerate Berli Jucker; and Malina Ngai, group chief executive officer of AS Watson.
The list also features executives from the financial services, healthcare, aviation, information technology, and consumer goods industries.
Forbes Asia said this year’s selection highlights women leading businesses through changes in technology, consumer demand, and regional economic conditions. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno