RCBC still interested in Equitable PCI

The Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) remains interested in acquiring a significant stake in Equitable PCI Bank.

RCBC vice chairman Cesar E. A. Virata said they want to know exactly what they are buying or the condition of the bank.

"We want to get in touch with the financial advisors and get enough information," Virata said, adding that RCBC does not want to make any commitments unless they have a good look at the books.

The financial advisers are ING Barings and JP Morgan which were tapped by Equitable PCI Bank to determine the best package for the sale of the bank.

Bank officials seeking anonymity said major stockholders of Equitable PCI Bank want to get a good picture of what could be done to save the bank from further troubles.

They said that the owners and founders – the Go family, the Romualdez clan, and the two government financial institutions (GFIs) – had agreed to tap the investment groups before making a decision on the future of the bank. The two GFIs with a major stake in Equitable PCI Bank are the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS).

The Go family controls 30 percent of Equitable PCI Bank, GSIS has only an equity share of 12 percent while SSS has 23 percent.

The two GFIs had declared that they were not anxious to unload their stake in the bank. However, both institutions declared that an offer that would be profitable to government would be a desired condition for their unloading of their combined 35 percent stake in the bank.

Members of the Go family had earlier declared their interest to unload their holdings only to backtrack late last month. This was reportedly prompted by a stream of returning depositors after then Vice President Gloria Macagapal-Arroyo was sworn in to the presidency.

Virata refused to comment on whether they preferred to have the Go family remain in the bank even if they were to acquire majority stake.

"Let us first look at the report of the financial advisers," he said.

Aside from RCBC, other commercial banks which expressed interest in acquiring Equitable PCI Bank are the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank), Banco Santander, and US-based Newbridge Capital.