MANILA, Philippines - Listed Philippine Business Bank (PBB) of Amb. Alfredo Yao has acquired another bank as part of its aggressive efforts to expand its presence nationwide.
In a disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), PBB corporate secretary Roberto Santos said the bank’s board of directors approved the acquisition and purchase of all the assets and liabilities of Bataan Savings and Loan Inc.
This is the third bank acquired by PBB in a little over a year. The Yao-led bank spent P518.2 million to acquire 100 percent of Insular Savers Bank Inc. of the Martirez family early this month after taking over Cavite-based Rural Bank of Kawit Inc. for P15 million in June last year.
PBB corporate information officer Katherine Pura informed the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) the bank is spending P63.9 million to take over the thrift bank.
Pura said the amount would be placed under escrow and released once the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) approves the transaction.
Pura said the acquisition is aimed at expanding the bank’s presence nationwide and at the same time to generate additional income.
PBB president and CEO Roland Avante earlier said the bank would continue to look for growth opportunities and would explore options in support of the initiatives of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to consolidate the industry through the Strengthening Program for Rural Banks (SPRB).
“We are exploring options in support of the regulatory initiatives to consolidate the industry and are looking at potential rural bank acquisitions so that PBB can enjoy benefits available as part of the SPRB,” Avante said.
PBB expects to open between 20 and 25 more branches within the year as the number of branches stood at 121 as of the end of the first quarter of the year. It began operations in 1997, largely catering to the needs of small and medium scale businesses.
“PBB’s branch expansion continues to progress as we originally envisioned. For the remainder of 2015, we expect newly-established branches to begin contributing sizeable growth to our loan portfolio,” Avante said.
Earnings of PBB went up 25 percent to P140.9 million in the first quarter of the year from P112.9 million in the same period last year on the back of robust interest income.
The bank’s resources reached P58.3 billion in the first quarter of the year, while loans and receivables amounted to P39.2 billion. Total loans reached P39.7 billion while total deposits amounted to P47.1 billion.