Banco de Oro to open HK remittance unit

Banco de Oro is opening its first remittance center overseas. BDO was allowed last week by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to open a single remittance center in Hong Kong after the bank acquired the Hatid-Yaman remittance business from its former owners.

The Monetary Board (MB) approved BDO’s application to open the remittance center which marked the bank’s first foray into a market currently dominated by the Philippine National Bank (PNB).

BSP deputy governor Alberto V. Reyes told reporters over the weekend that the MB granted BDO the authority to acquire, invest and operate the remittance center, Hatid-Yaman.

According to Reyes, BDO had planned to make an initial investment of P25 million in Hatid-Yaman but the bank would have to seek a separate approval from the MB if it decides to open another center elsewhere.

BDO’s Hatid-Yaman business would be a separate entity from the bank but it would be using its bank network to facilitate the transfer of funds from overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong to their families in the Philippines.

Although PNB has dominated the remittance business for years, the bank is currently under rehabilitation and the cash-rich BDO has the means to create a triumvirate with Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. as the third leg.

The entire Henry Sy Group expects a strong upside from the projected increase in consumer spending which has been fueled largely by money earned by OFWs.

BDO, however, has only begun setting its sights on the very source of revenues that fuel the growth of Sy’s retail business under the SM Department Store network, the country’s biggest and fastest-growing retail chain.

As the MB allowed BDO to open its first remittance center, the bank also got approval of its application for an expanded derivatives license after complying with the BSP’s risk management manual. – Des Ferriols