Security Bank boosts cross-border capabilities

MANILA, Philippines — Security Bank Corp. has boosted the cross-border capabilities of its investment-banking arm and at the same time introduced new investment product offerings to encourage more Filipinos to invest and diversify their financial portfolios.

SB Capital Investment Corp. has signed separate service agreements with the Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri) and MUFG Securities Asia (MUS Asia) to further bolster its global reach, enhancing the promotion of onshore and offshore business opportunities for its inbound and outbound clients.

Security Bank executive vice president and alliance segment head Takashi Takeuchi said the listed bank continues to leverage its partnerships to increase its global reach and capability in the financial services industry.

“We are confident that these agreements will further client interests, especially as we move forward to a post-pandemic era,” Takeuchi said.

SB Capital, together with Krungsri, would provide merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory services to capture cross-border M&A opportunities, similar to its existing arrangement with MUFG.

Meanwhile, SB Capital and MUS Asia would launch a debt capital market business, poised to capture offshore bond issuance opportunities.

Both agreements demonstrate the bank’s dedication to customer-centricity – addressing cross-border opportunities for clients within and outside the country.

SB Capital president Virgilio Chua said the agreements with its international partners demonstrate the bank’s focus on customer-centricity as these strengthen opportunities for clients.

“MUFG and its partners maintain presence in target geographies for offshore investments of their onshore clients in industries of strategic interest, such as in the Philippines. Similarly, SB Capital can provide leverage for its own clients looking to explore offshore opportunities in the countries where clients of MUFG and its partners are present,” Chua said.

MUFG, the largest financial institution in Japan, has a 20 percent stake in Security Bank, while Krungsri is Thailand’s fifth largest bank and a partner of Security Bank through MUFG.

Meanwhile, Security Bank through its Trust and Asset Management Group (TAMG) launched three new unit investment trust funds (UITF) to beef up its roster of investment product offerings and encourage more Filipinos to invest and diversify their financial portfolios.

Noel Reyes, chief investment officer at Security Bank’s TAMG, said the new funds would cater to clients seeking to expand their investment horizon with new diverse ways to grow their hard-earned money.

“We hope these new UITFs will encourage more Filipinos to access the financial markets not only locally but also the US markets and invest,” Reyes said.

To cater to the moderately conservative investor, Security Bank introduced the SB peso cash management fund.

Dino Aquino, TAMG’s fund manager access to US-based investments at Security Bank, said it has lowered the investment amount to only P5,000 from P10,000 for other peso UITFs to make investing more affordable.