AUB Gets Boost from Growing Demand for Renminbi in PHL

​Growing acceptance of the Chinese renminbi (RMB) in cross-border trade and international payments has been giving Asia United Bank (AUB) a boost.

​The publicly listed universal bank was recently awarded for having the “Highest RMB Trading Volume for the Year 2024” given by the Philippine RMB Trading Community set up by 14 member banks in 2018. This was the third consecutive year that AUB received the award from the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd. - Manila Branch tasked to actively support the deepening development of RMB internationalization in the Philippines. AUB also ranked first in terms of “highest incremental RMB-PHP trading volume in 2024 vs. 2023” and third in the “highest clearing volume” and “highest RMB deposits” categories.
 
“We recognize the growth of RMB trade as a key enabler in strengthening the economic ties between the Philippines and China, and we at AUB are proud to contribute to this important endeavor,” said AUB President Manuel A. Gomez.
 
The increased demand for RMB also “underscores the growing acceptance of the currency’s use in the settlement of trade flows between the Philippines and China,” added AUB Head of Treasury Antonio V. Agcaoili Jr.
 
While tension has been rising globally over the United States’ protectionist policies on trade such as the imposition of additional tariffs on imports, China has been steadily working to elevate the international profile of the RMB. “The Chinese government’s push for the opening of financial markets and Bank of China’s role in the Philippines to facilitate it enhances the ease of foreign exchange conversion from Philippine peso to RMB. Bank of China also ensures a reliable payment infrastructure that benefits small businesses scattered all over the Chinese mainland through BOC’s extensive branch network,” Mr. Agcaoili explained.
 
Meanwhile, Mr. Gomez said the award bestowed on AUB is “a testament, not just to the efforts of our Bank, but also to the enduring partnership we share with the Bank of China who continue to promote the growth and vibrancy of RMB transactions in the Philippines. This achievement reflects the hard work, dedication, and collaboration of our entire team, from our frontliners to our backroom support groups, all working towards delivering seamless, reliable trade finance solutions to our clients.”
 
AUB has a dedicated Proprietary Trading Desk headed by a professional trader with more than four decades of experience. It also relies on having a highly proactive and responsive IT team that developed most of its frontline platforms in-house, which led to the flexibility and scalability of its IT infrastructure. Its front-end system includes a fully automated Straight-Thru-Processing (STP) payment platform that has garnered awards from AUB’s correspondent banking partners for its “almost flawless” record of processing over 99% of transactions “in an error-free manner and consistently over an extended period,” he said. The bank also invested on relationship management that focused on preaching the benefits of maintaining both PHP and RMB deposit accounts as “settlement accounts” for all clients’ forex trades and other transactional needs.