Chinatrust works to double deposits

Chinatrust (Phils.) Commercial Bank Corp. is targeting to double its current and savings account (CASA) deposit base in the next 12 months to hit the P2-billion mark as the bank moves aggressively into one of the most competitive segments of the market.

Chinatrust president Joey A. Bermudez said yesterday they are not planning any bank or bank license acquisition this year, focusing instead on organic growth rather than acquisition-led expansion.

He said the bank is in the middle of reviewing its five-year program and any expansionary plan would be decided depending on the outcome of this review.

"We’re not buying anything at the moment," Bermudez said. "We’ve decided that there is a right time to pursue growth beyond the organic growth of the bank and now is not the time for that yet."

Bermudez said Chinatrust was aiming for this organic growth beginning with the aggressive moves to attract more deposits.

Chinatrust launched its Ultimate Deposit Account yesterday, an all-in-one checking account with the lock-in feature of a deposit product.

"We are sticking to our promise that we won’t be offering any new product unless it is genuinely innovative and original," Bermudez said. Other deposit products offered as "all-in-one" accounts, he said, were actually combinations of savings and current accounts linked by an automatic transfer arrangement.

Chinatrust’s Ultimate, Bermudez said, was essentially a checking account that would allow the depositor to maximize returns on his funds with the lock-in feature while also earning bonus rates on the untouched portion of his deposit.

Chinatrust first vice president Gerry Munda explained that the depositor could utilize this feature by giving the bank instructions to set aside a specified amount for a given period the amount would earn a committed rate which would be higher than the regular deposit savings rate. – Des Ferriols