MANILA, Philippines — Listed banks Asia United Bank (AUB) and Union Bank of the Philippines are tapping the onshore debt market through the issuance of bonds worth about P50 billion. The Rebisco Group-led AUB said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the bank's board of directors has approved a P30-billion bond program. "The terms, details and timing will be set by the management," AUB said. The bank earlier reported a 63 percent surge in net income to P2.6 billion in the first half amid the 25 percent increase in net interest income to P4.5 billion due to a combination of higher lending rates and volume. AUB president Manuel Gomez earlier said the bank is bullish with the growth exhibited for the past six months. "Our customers' continued patronage to all our core services has helped boost AUB Group's total assets, and this is something that we will continue to improve on year on year," Gomez said.