Bancommerce to begin roadshow on Urban Bank

Bank of Commerce, the universal bank owned by the family of businessman Antonio Cojuangco, will start its roadshow presentation next week to discuss the proposed rehabilitation plan for Urban Banking Corp. and Urbancorp Investment Inc.

Bancommerce president Raul de Mesa said that as the chosen rehabilitator of the defunct Urban Bank they would hold simultaneous briefings for depositors and preferred shareholders from Nov. 13 to 17 this year in all areas where Urban Bank used to operate.

De Mesa said the details of the Urban rehab plan, including the deposit liability servicing scheme Bancommerce submitted earlier to the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC), are expected to be taken up.

The briefings will pave the way for the implementation of the rehab plan, scheduled for the first week of December this year.

"If the depositors and shareholders will approve the rehab plan, we can proceed with its implementation early December," De Mesa said. According to him, depositors are also expected to submit their written conformity to the rehab plan which serves as a prerequisites for the reopening of Urban Bank in December.

"Depositors and preferred shareholders of Urban Bank were notified through a series of publications inviting them to attend the briefings scheduled at different venues, particularly in places where Urban Bank maintains branches," he said.

The schedule and venue of the roadshow presentations are as follows: for Baguio, Nov. 13 at 9 a.m. at the Baguio Palace Hotel; for Cebu City, Nov. 14 at 9 a.m. at the Urban Bank Regional Center, Ayala Center Cebu; for Metro Manila, Nov. 15, at 9 a.m. at the 36th floor, Urban Bank Plaza; for Davao City, Nov. 15 at 8 a.m. at the Apo View Hotel; for Bacolod City, Nov. 16 at 9 a.m. at the Bacolod Convention Plaza Hotel; General Santos City, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. at the Phela Grande Hotel; and finally in Iloilo City on Nov. 17 at 9 a.m. at Days Inn Hotel.

The Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), approved the acquisition of Urban Bank by Bancommerce last July 6.

Once reopened, Urban Bank and its investment house subsidiary UBI will be merged with Bancommerce. Depositors would be paid within three years with an interest rate of four percentage points over the prevailing Treasury bill rate.