3 thrift banks want KB status

At least three thrift banks are actively scouting for a commercial bank to acquire in their bid to attain commercial bank (KB) status, it was learned yesterday.

The three banks are ABN-Amro, Keppel Bank and Robinsons Savings Bank.

ABN-Amro is a New Zealand-based bank which recently acquired Great Pacific Bank. Great Pacific was also formerly BA Savings Bank.

ABN-Amro had initially vied to secure a foreign bank branch license when the BSP liberalized the entry of foreign banks.

When ABN-Amro failed to get one of the 10 foreign bank branch license issued by the BSP, it opted for the other mode of entry which is acquiring up to 60 percent of a local bank.

ABN-Amro, thus, acquired the Yuchengco-owned Great Pacific Savings Bank.

However, ABN-Amro was already in the process of securing a commercial bank license from the BSP when the amendment to the General Banking Act was passed by Congress. Under the revised provision of the GBA, a three-year moratorium would be imposed on the granting of new KB license.

Thus, ABN-Amro must now concentrate on acquiring an existing local commercial bank. Robinsons Savings Bank had also been in the process of seeking a commercial bank license from the BSP.

Robinsons Savings Bank is part of the Gokongwei group and helping it attain commercial bank status is former BSP Gov. Gabriel Singson who is now connected with the Gokongwei holding company -- JG Summit.

Keppel Bank is the former Monte de Piedad Savings and Loan Bank which was bailed out by the Singaporean Keppel Group.

Keppel is reportedly holding talks with Equitable-PCIBank for a possible merger.

Equitable-PCIBank, for its part, had also announced that it intends to sell three smaller thrift banks, namely Ecology Bank, Mindanao Development Bank and PCI Savings Bank.

The moratorium on the granting of new commercial bank licenses would help the BSP encourage more mergers and acquisitions.

However, BSP Gov. Rafael Buenaventura said that there is likely to be more acquisitions now than mergers.