BDO, Bancommerce, Asia United vie for right to buy First e-Bank

First e-Bank Corp. (FSTE), the banking arm of the Metro Pacific group, said yesterday there are no plans to close the bank only to reopen it under the name of a prospective partner.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FSTE said existing proposals from other banks are for merger and direct investments, although no agreements have yet been reached with any of the bidders.

Three banks are reportedly bidding for the right to buy and rehabilitate FSTE from the MPC group – Banco de Oro Universal Bank, Bank of Commerce, and Asia United Bank.

"At present, as is the normal procedure, these proposals are still with the regulatory agencies for evaluation," FSTE said.

BDO, the banking arm of the SM Group of retail taipan Henry Sy, said it has an outstanding offer to acquire the assets and assume the liabilities, both on a selective basis, of FSTE’s 60-branch network and has submitted such offer to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

But the bank denied it has been declared the winning bidder last Friday, pointing out that "we have not yet received any notice of approval from the Monetary Board," the policy-making body of the BSP.

"We had proposals to acquire First e-Bank’s branches as early as November 2001 but despite serious discussions, no agreement was concluded with the Metro Pacific Group," BDO said.

FSTE likewise said it is not aware of any decision by the BSP as to which of the three banks’ proposals has been approved and assured the PSE that it would immediately disclose such information at the appropriate time and manner.

In a span of less than three years, MPC has sold off its stake in businesses such as bottled water, personal care and agri-veterinary products to focus on its core property development and settle its outstanding debt obligations amounting to over P12 billion.

Aside from FSTE, MPC’s remaining non-core assets include shipping line Negros Navigation Co. Inc. (Nenaco), which has been put on the auction block earlier.