UniBank, S.A. is a Panamanian financial institution established in 2010, offering a wide range of banking services to individuals and businesses. As of June 2024, the bank has total assets of USD $643 million and a loan portfolio of USD $447 million. Unibank primarily focuses on providing loans to local enterprises (SMEs and small corporates), with about 85% of its portfolio corresponding to commercial clients in various sectors and the remaining 15% to retail clients.
We spoke with CEO John Rozo Uribe about the bank’s strategy for reaching women in business.
Alliance: Could you share Unibank’s market position in Panama and the company’s overall strategic vision?
John Rozo (JR): UniBank is a 100% Panamanian-owned bank striving to be the preferred bank for business clients, offering a value proposition for individual customers that includes excellence in service and digital solutions. UniBank has been recognized among the 100 best companies in our country, according to the Merco Empresas ranking. This achievement reflects the commitment, excellence, and dedication of our team, as well as the trust our clients have placed in us. These and other recognitions motivate us to continue fulfilling our purpose of being a solid, agile, and digital bank.
Alliance: What is Unibank’s vision for Women’s Markets? Which segments are you interested in targeting?
JR: At UniBank, inclusion is a conviction reflected in our core value of respect. It is also a strategic pillar within our vision for sustainable growth. As part of this commitment, we established a strategic partnership with Proparco, a multilateral development institution under the French government, to strengthen our value proposition for SMEs and integrate a gender perspective into our financial portfolio. Through this collaboration and with additional support from FMO, the development bank of the Dutch government, we allocate specific resources to improve SME access to financing. Since the pandemic, our country’s reality has changed, leading to the emergence of many entrepreneurial initiatives that require support—from simplifying the process of opening a business account to accessing working capital and financing. Our focus on SMEs is aimed at those with annual sales ranging from USD 250,000 to USD 2.5M.
Alliance: What type of value proposition(s) are you considering for the women’s markets?
JR: At UniBank, we seek to design proposals that empower women who run businesses, serve in leadership roles, develop commercial ventures, and strengthen the financial and social fabric of the country. We are currently designing our strategy through technical assistance from Proparco. We have already developed a digital solution for opening business checking accounts and a credit scoring model to improve delivery of financing—both solutions aimed at increasing market reach and penetration among women in business.
Alliance: Capturing sex-disaggregated data is essential for establishing the baseline for a Women’s Market Program. However, many banks face challenges due to legacy systems, etc. Where do you stand in your gender data journey?
JR: We recognize that effective data management, segmented by gender, is crucial for developing inclusive strategies and creating financial solutions that address the specific needs of the women’s market. We have invested in data governance solutions and the design of a robust yet flexible architecture, built to support advanced analytics that allow us to identify trends, predict behaviors, and conduct cluster studies with a gender-differentiated perspective. Additionally, we have real-time dashboards that allow us to visualize the profile of active customers, optimizing decision-making for the design of equitable proposals.
Currently, 35% of our individual customers are women, while 9% of our corporate clients have women as signatories, representatives, or shareholders. These figures enable us to know where we stand and continuously refine our strategy.
Alliance: Internal diversity and inclusion are crucial to effectively serving the women’s market. Could you provide an overview of female representation within UniBank and share one or two key initiatives that have driven progress?
JR: We have made significant progress in the inclusion and representation of women at various organizational levels. Currently, 46% of leadership positions are held by women, demonstrating our commitment to gender equity in strategic decision-making. Additionally, women make up 60% of our workforce. Furthermore, we have launched initiatives such as our commitment to the Gender Parity Initiative of Panama (IPG Panamá), aimed at increasing female representation in leadership positions and reducing the gender gap.
Alliance: Why did you decide to join the Alliance, and what do you hope to learn from or share with the network?
JR: I had the opportunity to engage with the Alliance in previous professional experience and recognize its value-added approach. Most importantly, we firmly believe in the power of strategic collaboration to drive sustainable development and financial inclusion. Our decision to join the Alliance is driven by our commitment to strengthening the financial ecosystem, learning from the best international practices, and sharing our experience in creating innovative solutions for the women’s market. Through this network, we aim to exchange knowledge with leading institutions, consolidate impactful strategies, and actively contribute to initiatives that promote gender equity and business growth.
