Bad feng shui

As everybody knows, the head office of Banco de Oro Universal Bank will be torn down to make room for the extension of the SM-Keppel high-end mall venture, The Podium. The sharp edges of the mountain-like building an architectural conceit by its former owner, Benguet Mining is considered bad feng shui.

BDO’s executive offices will move to the SM complex in the reclamation area. This will make it easier for chairman Teresita Sy-Coson to get in touch with both her father, Henry Sy, and other SM executive.

Unlike other commercial banks, which need to be near their large Makati-based clients, BDO’s main clients – SM suppliers will go where they are told to go.

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Bank notes 1: Philippine National Bank president Lorenzo Tan continues to pirate senior level professionals. The latest is AB Capital and Investment Corp. executive vice-president Asterio Favis, who comes in as EVP/treasurer.

Uhm, Boy Favis’ job shouldn’t be confused with that of another new hire, EVP/chief financial officer Carmen Huang, who will concentrate on comptrollership.

Mr. Favis worked very closely with PNB chairman Francisco Dizon at AsianBank (before it was first sold to Global Business Bank and then absorbed by Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.). That was in the early 1990s when Paquito Dizon was president and chief executive officer and the bank’s growth in revenues shot up in large part due to Mr. Favis’ group.

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Bank notes 2: Local Government Unit Guarantee Corp. president Jesus Tirona couldn’t be happier than if one of his two sons won an international award.

You see, LGUCC was cited by the United States Agency for International Development among its "best practices". Discussed in a report prepared by USAID’s Office of Development Credit dated August 2002 but released only early this week was LGUCC’s guarantee program for the municipal bonds.

To make LGUGC projects attractive and credible to banks, a $28.5 million facility from USAID’s Development Credit Authority was set up to guarantee 30 percent of the loan principal and interest.

In its project summary, the USAID report said the DCA guarantee "support USAID/Philippines’ strategic objective no. 2: Investment less constraints (brought about) by corruption and poor governance."

Right now, LGUGC stakeholders are 21 commercial banks, which jointly hold a 51 percent equity, and the Development Bank of the Philippines, which holds the balance 49 percent.

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Bank notes 3: These past few weeks, Trade and Investment Development Corp. of the Phils. President Joel Valdes has been doing a lot of foreign travel. You see, he’s been busy signing agreements with his European counterparts as the country’s export-import bank.

Basically, Tidcorp provides guarantees to exporters.