Keppel Monte Bank still wants to upgrade status

Keppel Monte Bank is still keen on acquiring a commercial bank in its bid to become one of the major players in the local banking industry, a ranking Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official said yesterday.

"They are looking for a commercial bank to buy because they want their status to be converted into a commercial bank," BSP deputy governor Alberto Reyes said.

Reyes explained that since there is still a moratorium on branching out and granting of new bank licenses, Keppel has no choice but to buy a commercial bank to upgrade its status. "Since they can't apply for a commercial bank license, they have to buy an existing commercial bank," he said.

Reyes refused to identify the commercial bank that Keppel Monte is eyeing but admitted that the Singaporean bank has formally informed the BSP of their plan to buy a bank.

Keppel Monte, owned by the Keppel Group of Singapore, was able to enter the local banking industry by infusing cash and rehabilitating the defunct Monte de Piedad Savings and Loan Association.

Earlier, Keppel Monte was reported to have expressed keen interest in buying into Urban Bank, the closed bank owned by the group of Arsenio Bartolome III.

Keppel Monte is only one of the few foreign-controlled banks that have expressed intentions to expand operations in the Philippines specially now that Congress is about to pass the amendments to the General Banking Act (GBA).

These amendments will allow foreign banks to own as much as 100 percent of a local bank.

Aside from Keppel, ABN-AMRO has also expressed an interest in buying more banks as part of its regional expansion plan. ABN-AMRO recently bought the majority stake of Great Pacific Savings Bank, formerly BA Savings of the Yuchengco group.