Not alone

Signs of the times 1: In Binondo, the cost of business has gone up because the preferred currency used in paying the "facilitating fee" has shifted from pesos to dollars.

Just consider how small P1 million translates to in dollars or how much $1 million translates to in pesos at the current foreign exchange rate.

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Signs of the times 2: The Philippines is not the only Asian country being hit by white collar unemployment.

Did you hear about this Singapore-based banker who re-trained as a baker after his bank down-sized? His application was turned down by a food company not because he was overqualified for the job but because of his age. He was, after all, over 35.

And then, there are now those long lines of applicants wanting to be public school teachers at a measly S$3,000 a month, which is hardly enough for one person (much less, a person supporting a family) to live on.

Hong Kong isn’t any better. Rather than lose their jobs, employees are now doing two to four hours of overtime every day, for free. Those who don’t like the deal are told to quit; there are enough workers willing to step into their shoes.

Even the expatriates – those who have made Asia their home – no longer have as many fringe benefits as before. One of the first benefits to go are those golf memberships. And their housing allowance has been slashed so much that, despite lower rentals these days, the expats are encouraged to look for even cheaper accommodations.

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Bank notes 1: All is not well within the family which merged the two banks where it has controlling interest. Some family members want to sell out and have actually approached some people with money for a possible deal.

So far, nobody is biting, in part because the bank has, among other things, one of the ugliest looking head offices in Makati.

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Bank notes 2: Did Leonardo Ty leave a curse on the bank he left behind? His Associated Bank was changed to Westmont Bank and then renamed to United Overseas Bank (Phils.) to reflect the change in majority ownership.

The consortium put together by Edgardo Espiritu bought Associated from government at a fire sale (with a generous rehabilitation plan thrown in).

When Westmont got into financial trouble, Ed Espiritu’s group sold the majority interest to UOB of Singapore and took a minority stake.

Just recently, UOB Singapore bought out its Filipino partners – and UOB’s problems have just begun.

For one, the House committee on banks headed by Jaime Lopez is investigating the legality or the sale. One of the Filipino partners, Farmix Group chairman Manuel Tan, claims he didn’t sign any documents selling his 11.8-percent stake in UOB.

For another, Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Alberto Reyes (who is in charge of the Supervision and Examination Sector) has yet to be formally informed of the purchase details. Uhm, it’s been five months.