Plantersbank prepares branch integration plan

Planters Development Bank will submit its branch integration program within the year following its successful acquisition of Active Bank.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) gives merged banks two years to complete an integration program. The BSP offers incentives for bank mergers.

Plantersbank president Maria Flordelis Aguenza said that within the next three months, they would know which branches would be integrated, relocated or closed.

"We have a team to bring that integration into place. The team will say which branches of the former Active Bank would remain open as Plantersbank, which would be relocated, which branches would be integrated in our IT systems," Aguenza explained.

Prior to the merger, Plantersbank had 51 branches while Active Bank had 31 for a total. This will however be trimmed down depending on the recommendations of the integration team.

"In terms of assets, we are number two after BPI Family Bank. But we are not preoccupied with size, that is not one of our priorities/concerns," the bank president said.

Unofficially, the new bank with Plantersbank as the surviving entity, has total resources of almost P25 billion coming from the P1.2 billion in deposits of the former Active Bank and almost P24 billion in consolidated assets of Plantersbank.

Plantersbank reported total resources of P20.2 billion in 2000, or a 17-percent increase from the P16.7 billion registered in 1999.

Aguenza said the company does not have any plans of acquiring a commercial banking license.

"We like what we are doing, we like our developmental nature. We do not want to be a commercial bank. We have played a niche game and the small- and medium enterprises (SMEs). We don’t believe in doing so many things, we want to stick to our core competence," the bank chief said.

Last month, Planters Development Bank acquired Active Bank in a move that was not totally unexpected considering that the BSP has imposed a branch moratorium, while allowing bigger and more liquid banks to acquire other banks or branch licenses.

In late 2000 to early 2001, the bank rationalized its branch network in lieu of the branch moratorium.

It focused on business hubs in the country, and other strategic areas outside of Metro Manila, which will give the bank more strategic value.

With the help of the International Finance Corp. (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, the bank’s resources grew resulting in several business ventures.

Among these are SME.com.ph., a joint venture between Planstersbank, the IFC, and Silicon Valley-based firm eVicor. "The site will connect local SMEs to the world market and empowers them to compete on the same playing fields as big businesses."

Then it established the Micro Enterprise Bank (MEB), a microfinance-oriented bank based in Davao. It is co-owned by Doen Foundation and International Micro Investitionen, the Netherlands Development Finance Co. (FMO), and the IFC. – Ted Torres