Psst! Want a money-making machine?

Go figure this one.

There’s still more than a couple of condo units available at One Roxas Triangle, where, as they say, if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it. There are also not that many takers for low-end housing projects, where the price is the only factor that matters.

In between these two markets, however, is an incredibly robust niche of middle-and upper middle-income real estate projects where demand is more than supply.

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Bank notes 1: Banks have a secret money making machine and its called Philippine bonds.

Consider RP 2006 bonds, which mature in 2006. That’s about 9.5 percent in interest, tax-free and 100 percent guaranteed by the Philippine government. When you add in the peso’s depreciation since the start of the year – the peso started 2002 at P50 to the dollar – that’s another 6.5 percent in paper gains for a truly attractive 16 percent thereabouts.

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Bank notes 2: Tuesday mornings may or may not be a good time to see Bangko Sentral Governor Rafael Buenaventura. To find out how the wind blows, check how he did that day in the golf course.

You see, Tuesday is when Paeng Buenaventura plays a nine-hole game at Manila Golf. His partner changes – it could be Dresdner Bank country representative Cezar Virtusio or former SolidBank president Deogracias Vistan or Philippine Stock Exchange independent director Peter Favila. The "other team" is always the same – former Bangko Sentral Governor Gabriel Singson and Chinatrust Bank vice-chairman William Go.

Since there’s no such animal as "governor" in the greens, Mr. Buenaventura wins some and loses some.

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Bank notes 3: Former Development Bank of the Philippines chairman Ramon Abad and Government Service Insurance System director Leonora de Jesus looked very, uh, domesticated as they looked for bargains at DBP’s entrepreneurs fair last weekend.

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Bank notes 3: The reorganization at United Coconut Planters Bank will push through next month. The idea is to flatten the organization and to place multi-talked people in the right positions so the bank can deliver better services to its clients.

As everyone knows, Cocobank – the country’s first universal bank – has been hampered somewhat by ownership issues. Once these issues are resolved, the bank will be able to raise its capital base.

As it is, Cocobank chairman and chief executive officer Edward Go has been quietly handing over a lot of what he’s doing to executive vice-president and chief operating officer Andrew Alcid.

With more time on his ends, Eddie Go can now move around and be the bank’s "face" among clients. He can also have more time being the Senegal consul in the Philippines. (Why else would he be cheering for the heart-stopping games of Senegal during the World Cup this year?)