Merger of 2 rural banks approved

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved the merger of Producers Rural Banking Corp. (Producers Bank) and the Rural Bank of Rosales Inc. (ROSBANK), creating the largest bank in Northern and Central Luzon.

Producers Bank is based in Nueva Ecija while ROSBANK is located in neighboring Pangasinan.

The merged bank, to be known as Producers Bank, will become the largest in Northern and Central Luzon in terms of assets, branch network, employee workforce and capital base.

It will have approximately P1.25 billion in assets, a branch network of 34 located in 10 provinces of Luzon, and a combined workforce of more than 400 employees by the end of 2003.

"The merger would move the new bank closer to realizing its vision to be the most progressive and stable private development financial institution in the countryside," the BSP said in a statement.

Prior to the integration, Producers Bank was considered the fastest growing and one of the best managed rural banks in the country.

Since November 1995, it has grown into an P860-million RB with 14 branches.

The Central Luzon RB was ranked third as countryside financial institution (CFI) and number one in Region III according to the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

The LBP-led Peoples Credit and Finance Corp. also named Producers Bank as one of the best microfinance institutions in the Philippines having extended its services to more than 41,000 households.

ROSBANK, for its part, is one of the oldest and most respected rural bank in Pangasinan. It was founded by the influential Estrella clan in 1962. It brings to the merged bank a P260-million asset base, an extensive 11-branch network and leadership position in Pangasinan.

Last month, the BSP approved the merger of three RBs based in Mindanao reportedly resulting in the country’s biggest rural bank.

One Network Rural Bank Inc. is a three-way merger between the Network Rural Bank Inc. (Network Bank), the Rural Bank of Panabo and Provident Rural Bank of Cotabato.

The new RB has a combined resource of P2.4 billion and paid-up capital at P444 million.

It deposit base amounted to P1.6 billion and loans placed at P1.3 billion. Depositors number over 223,000 while borrowers at 47,000. The merged bank would have a branch network of 46 spread out in Mindanao with the majority located in Cotabato and Davao.

The three participating RBs are considered "healthy" and ranked among the top performers in 2002.

Network Bank ranked second, RB Panabo ranked fourth, and ProBank ranked eight in terms of profitability among the RBs.