RCBC eyes 12 new branches this year

Yuchengco-controlled Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) plans to open 10 to 12 new branches this year as the race for a bigger share of the domestic market continues in the face of the global downturn.

RCBC already operates 210 branches nationwide and balloons to 325 if the 115 branches of RCBC Savings Bank are included.

RCBC president and chief executive officer Lorenzo V. Tan said that commercial bank remains unfazed by the global economic meltdown.

“We are off to a strong start this year as we continuously seek ways to improve our financial performance and profitability,” he added.

Likewise, RCBC is still craving to acquire medium to small-sized banks to increase its branch and business center network. It is still in talks with several small and medium-sized banks, most of which are still in the exploratory stage.

Tan had said that RCBC’s preference is smaller banks (in the case of commercial banks) and relatively larger ones (in the case of thrift banks) since the focus of majority of the domestic players is the consumer and SME market, as well as the middle corporate.

Thus, RCBC has been aggressive in its branch expansion, ATM deployment and the introduction of new or improved convenience and consumer banking products.

”The opportunities are endless in the consumer and middle markets,” Tan said. “Our branch expansion initiatives manifest not just our desire to better service our clients but also indicate our aggressive push to reinforce our presence as a major player in the banking industry.”

In the last quarter of 2007, RCBC acquired the 30-year old thrift bank Merchants Savings and Loan Association Inc. from Finman Capital Corp. The acquisition included 21 operating branches, seven of which are in Metro Manila.