The approval-in-principle was issued through a Monetary Board Resolution No. 1806 dated Oct. 13, 2000.
BSP informed BDO of the Monetary Board’s decision in a letter to the bank dated Nov. 13, 2000.
The letter stated that the final merger will take effect upon the completion by BDO of all the necessary requirements for the merger.
BDO and Dao Heng Bank Group Ltd. (DHBL) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on Sept. 21, 2000 which paved the way for the official merger of BDO and DHBL’s Philippine subsidiary, DHBI.
The merger was described as beneficial to both banks.
BDO will benefit from the transfer of technology from DHBL, particularly in electronic banking, point of sale (POS) technology and call center banking.
BDO will also benefit from the continued development of cross-border products, like the remittances of Filipino workers from Hong Kong, trade finance services supporting the Hong Kong, Manila and China trade, and private banking activities. These will be very valuable in giving BDO competitive advantages in the banking industry.
The merger will also expand the reach of the bank through the addition of the DHBI’s Philippine branches and its products and services.
For DHBL, BDO is a strategic partner in the Philippines through which DHBL will gain a stronger position in the Philippine market and a wider market for its diversified products and services, through the branch network of BDO.
For clients of the combined entities, the merger will be beneficial since they will now deal with a much bigger bank with better and more products and services to provide for their specific financial requirements.