Chinabank infuses P500 M new capital in investment unit

MANILA, Philippines - China Banking Corp. is infusing P500 million in fresh capital into subsidiary China Bank Capital Corp. in order to handle bigger deals.

Ricardo Chua, chief executive officer of China Bank, said the capital infusion would be made within the first quarter via the increase in CBCC’s authorized capital to P2 billion.

“Having strengthened its presence as a major player in the local capital markets in its first full year of operations as a subsidiary, the increase in authorized capital…will improve the ability of China Bank Capital to handle bigger deals and help our clients even better,” Chua said.

Aside from CBCC, the China Bank Group also includes China Bank Savings,  CBC Insurance Brokers, bancassurance affiliate Manulife China Bank Life Assurance Corp., CBC Properties and Computer Center, and CBC Forex Corp.

China Bank through CBCC acquired ATC Securities Inc. this year to set up its own brokerage firm, China Bank Securities Corp. CBCC also incorporated a securitization company, CBC Assets One (SPC) Inc.

China Bank had earlier injected P2 billion in fresh equity into China Bank Savings to bankroll the thrift lender’s aggressive expansion program. The Sy-led bank has infused a total of P6.01 billion in additional equity into China Bank Savings since September 2014.

Last November, China Bank raised close to P9.6 billion through the issuance of long-term negotiable certificates of time deposits (LTNCD) to support its strategic initiatives and business expansion. This marked the return of China Bank to the peso debt market after its LTNCD transaction in 2008.

The issuance expanded China Bank’s long-term deposit base and boosted its long-term asset growth.

Earnings of China Bank jumped 31 percent to P4.84 billion in the first nine months of last year as the bank’s core business drivers continued to show robust growth.

China Bank offers a wide range of financial products and services through 526 branches including the 160 branches of China Bank Savings nationwide.