ING unfazed by entry of new foreign banks

MANILA, Philippines - Dutch financial giant ING Bank is unfazed by the entry of more foreign banks in the Philippines and is banking on its 25-year experience to survive the intense competition in the industry.

William Connelly, ING Bank global head of commercial banking, said the bank’s franchise in the Philippines is strong enough to support the needs of banking clients.

“Clearly we recognize our competitors and some of them are formidable competitors. But our experience in the PHL is that our clients recognize the support we have given them all these years. I won’t say we welcome all competition but we’re not totally concerned about them either,” he said.

Connelly explained ING Bank set up its representative office in the Philippines in 1990 and became the first foreign bank to upgrade into a universal bank in 1995.

He added the Dutch financial institution sees huge opportunities in the Philippines as it continues to post strong gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) earlier said there is more room to accommodate the entry of foreign banks in the country despite the green light given to five foreign banks to set up shop in the Philippines.

The amended foreign banks measure through Republic Act 10641 was signed into law by President Aquino in July last year. This removed the limit of foreign banks in the country earlier set at only 10.

Likewise, foreign banks under the new law have also been allowed to own as much as 100 percent of any local bank, removing the previous cap of 60 percent.

Since January, the central bank has approved the entry of Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui, South Korea’s Shinhan Bank, Taiwan’s Cathay United, the Industrial Bank of Korea, and Yuanta Bank of Taiwan.

ING Bank Manila country manager Consuelo Garcia said the entry of new foreign players would open a lot of opportunities for major players in the Philippine banking industry.

“From the time of the foreign banks liberalization, there was already competition and made the market a bit overcrowded but that also opens up a lot of opportunities for the products we have,” she said.

 Garcia explained ING Bank would continue to focus on its expertise particularly in mergers and acquisitions (M&As).

 The bank has been involved in 58 M&A deals in the Philippines worth $17.1 billion since 1998.

 “One of our strongest franchises is M&A, and it’s a two-way street. As the foreign banks come in, the local banks are also looking at ways to compete. So you can bet your bottom dollar that we are always busy trying to give them ideas on how to prepare themselves on this competition,” she added.