Thrift bank gets nod for IPO

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the initial public offering (IPO) of mid-sized thrift bank Citystate Savings Bank (CSB) in its bid to raise as much as P128 million for its expansion.

CSB said it plans to offer 11.1 million new common shares priced between P10.25 to P11.55 each to be listed and traded at the second board of the Philippine Stock Exchange. The IPO will be lead managed and underwritten by Abacus Capital & Investment Corp.

The offer shares will represent 25.17 percent of the bank’s issued and capital outstanding capital stock of 44.1 million common shares, with a par value of P10 per share.

Registered as a bank entity on May 20, 1997, CSB was incorporated by a group of Filipino businessmen led by Col. Antonio L. Cabangon-Chua and Alfredo G. Siy. It was granted a license by the Bangko Sentral to operate as a thrift bank on Aug. 7 of the same year and has increased its authorized capital to P1 billion.

CSB began commercial operations in 1997 with the opening of its first branch in Chino Roces Ave. in Makati, expanding to a total of 12 branches since then, including its head office at the Citystate Center Building along Shaw Blvd. In Pasig. Nine of its branches are in Metro Manila, two in Bulacan and one in Cebu City.

Cabangon-Chua is the chairman of the ALC Group of Companies, a diversified conglomerate involved in insurance and insurance brokerage through the Fortune Group of Companies, motor vehicle dealership through Gencars Inc. and real estate development. Siy, on the other hand, is the chairman of the Ever Fortune Real Estate Group, Fortune Net and Twine Manufacturing Corp., and Philippine Fishing Gear Industries, among others.

The bank’s principal foreign shareholder is Citystate Holdings Bank Pte. Ltd. (CHPL), a Singaporean investment and financial holdings corporation. CHPL’s investment in the bank was made through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Newstate Investment Holdings Ptd. Ltd.

The proceeds of the IPO will be earmarked for the expansion of the branch network, information technology expenditures, investments in allied and non-allied undertakings and to complement the funding requirements of its loans and investments in government bonds and similar securities. – Conrado Diaz Jr.