RCBC signs accord with Resona Bank of Japan

MANILA, Philippines - The Rizal Commercial and Banking Corp. (RCBC) had entered into a business cooperation agreement with Resona Bank Ltd. of Japan. RCBC is the country’s fourth largest private universal bank in terms of capital while Resona Bank is the fourth largest banking group in Japan.

The universal bank of the Yuchengco Group said that the agreement gives customers of Resona Bank access to banking services (including loans to their subsidiaries) in the Philippines.

With more and more Japanese business groups now going into the other Asian markets, Resona Bank exerts efforts to strengthen its business tie-ups with partner banks overseas in order to meet its customers’ local banking needs. 

The new deal will enable Resona Bank customers to tap on RCBC’s banking services, including loans and trade finances in peso.

“We entered into a business tie-up with RCBC to fulfill the expectations of our customers in the Philippines, where Japanese companies have been expanding,” Resona Bank president Naoki Iwata said in a statement.

RCBC has a large presence in export processing zones, which allows it to serve a huge base of Japanese locators in such zones. 

It operates 389 branches as well as its own Japanese desk which offers many and varied services to Japanese corporations.

The RCBC Japan desk was set up in the RCBC Headquarters in Makati City to provide business consultations in Japanese.

According to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), Japan has overtaken the United States as the country’s top trading partner and source of investment.

Japan remains as one of the top destinations for Philippine products, receiving 15.4 percent, or $7.8 billion of the country’s total exports in 2010. Likewise, Japan has the largest share in the total annual imports of the Philippines.

 Japan is the country’s leading source of investments, accounting for 38.6 percent or P9.7 billion of the total commitments of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the third quarter of last year. Majority of this would be invested in manufacturing and siding board.

Resona Bank, a member of the Resona Group, has been in partnerships with financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and India. At the same time, Resona Bank had set up representative offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, and is known for excellent service.