EastWest Bank acquires Mindanao rural bank

MANILA, Philippines - East West Banking Corp. has acquired Green Bank of Caraga, one of the leading rural banks in the country, as part of its strategic plan to fully achieve universal bank status.

The commercial bank of the Filinvest Group of Companies bought Green Bank which has 46 branches spread out nationwide, although the bulk remains in Mindanao, bringing East West Bank’s total branch network to 163.

It was a profitable purchase for EastWest Bank as its consolidated assets rose to nearly P90 billion with the addition of P3 billion from Green Bank.

EastWest Bank president and chief executive officer Antonio C. Moncupa Jr. said that he plans to create synergies from the acquisition. Green Bank will retain its rural banking license since it has been successful in agriculture, consumer, retail and microfinance operations.

 “We will absorb some of the branches in the commercial bank network, while the rest will still be Green Bank for rural banking operations,” Moncupa said.

Majority of the branches are located in the Mindanao region, which will likely remain under the Green Bank network. The branches in the Visayas and Luzon will most likely be absorbed by EastWest Bank.

 “In areas of duplication, we will redeploy the branch license depending on the need,” he added.

EastWest Bank has been expanding through both the organic and inorganic route. It acquired Ecology Savings Bank in 2003, then followed this up with the acquisition of AIG Philam Savings Bank in 2009.

After the first semester of this year, its total loans and receivables amounted to P41.4 billion. Total consumer loans reached P21.8 billion, due to the strong performances of its auto loan and credit card businesses.

Total corporate loans, meanwhile, posted significant gains, rising solidly by P21 billion for a 16.7-percent increase from the first semester of 2010.

Total deposits stood at P61.7 billion.