BDO, German bank lock arms

A master agreement was signed recently between Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO Unibank), the new entity resulting from the Banco de Oro Universal Bank and Equitable PCI Bank merger, and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (Nord/LB), one of the major banks in Germany, which stipulates the terms of reference by which both banks will cooperate in financing local capital projects.

The agreement covers long-term trade finance (structured trade finance) of capital goods and services manufactured by exporters from member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), basically the G-8 nations, that are to be procured by Philippine project sponsors.

“This milestone (agreement) paves the way for BDO Unibank to access long-term funds across international borders, supported by export credit agencies in Western Europe, the US and Asia,” said BDO Unibank president Nestor V. Tan.

The partnership with Nord/LB is being handled by Cross Border and Wholesale Group (CrossBoW), a new team within the unibank formed to specialize in structured trade finance.

“CrossBoW is designed to cater for the multiplicity of requirements of medium to large Philippine corporates wanting to fuel their capital investments with concessional overseas funding. In a field dominated by multinational banks, BDO Unibank can proudly say, ‘We are in!’” BDO Unibank executive vice president and CrossBow head Aristotle L. Villaraza said.