MANILA, Philippines — Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the Baa2 investment grade rating of Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines amid its mildly improved solvency, stable asset quality, and high core profitability. However, the listed bank's credit rating outlook was kept at negative because of uncertainty related to the bank's plan to improve its core capital ratio to a level that will be commensurate with that of its domestic and regional peers. The debt watcher cited UnionBank's mildly improved solvency position following the P12 billion capital increase in February following a material capital decrease related to the acquisition of Citigroup retail business. Moody's also sees stabilizing asset quality for the Aboitiz-led bank due to post-pandemic economic recovery.