BDO accelerates branch expansion with purchase of The Real Bank

MANILA, Philippines - The SM Group’s BDO Unibank Inc., the nation’s top lender, is accelerating its branch expansion program with its purchase of Quezon City-based thrift bank The Real Bank Inc.

BDO told the Philippine Stock Exchange that it has agreed to acquire all recorded assets and assume all liabilities of The Real Bank.

“The acquisition is in line with our objective to accelerate branch expansion in underserved areas,” BDO president and CEO Nestor Tan said.

The Real Bank has a deposit base of P7.2 billion and operates 24 branches in Metro Manila and Luzon. Established in 1976 as Real Savings and Loans Association Inc. (RSLAI), it opened as a single-branch bank in Cainta, Rizal and rebranded as The Real Bank in 1994 by a group of investors led by realty developer Jose Acuzar.

Its branches are strategically located in Metro Manila and major growth centers in  Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, and Rizal. Total resources stood at P8.115 billion as of end-June 2013, a more than three-fold increase from P2.39 billion in 2003.

The thrift bank offers micro-financing support to the small and medium enterprise market, housing and auto loan products.

BDO, meanwhile, has one of the largest distribution networks in the country with more than 800 operating branches and over 2,300 ATMs nationwide.  It also has a branch in Hong Kong as well as 13 overseas remittance and representative offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.

BDO ranked as the largest bank in terms of total assets, loans, deposits, capital and trust funds under management based on published statements of condition as of March 31, 2014. 

Over the past two years, BDO acquired Citibank Savings Inc., the thrift bank of the Aboitiz Group, and Rural Bank of San Juan, giving it an additional 30 branches mainly located within Metro Manila.