RCBC trust funds hit P20B

The assets under management (AUMs) of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has expanded to P20.6 billion or over 90 percent better than the P10.7 billion in 2006.

The growth in AUMs reportedly served as another growth driver to the bank’s earning last year.

RCBC senior vice president Manuel G. Ahyong Jr. said the portfolio gain can be attributed to the significant increase in its client base, which expanded by 117 percent. He added that the bank hired more relationship managers in 2007.

This year, it is looking at  50-percent growth in AUMs based on untapped high-networth clients of the bank’s branch network.

RCBC president and chief executive officer Lorenzo V. Tan said they were looking at managing assets worth P50 billion in the next five years.

“That is still a small portion of the Filipino funds currently management by offshore banks,” Tan said.

The bank’s wealth management team intends to beef up its branches in Metro Manila by doubling its existing force of wealth relationship managers.

Just like last year where RCBC wealth management solidified its presence in its Makati and Binondo offices, this year, it will be establishing‑ wealth management desks in some RCBC branches that particularly cater to the Filipino-Chinese market.

These will be in Greenhills/New Manila, Caloocan/Valenzuela and Quezon Avenue.

Ahyong also said that plans to develop new offices in provincial sites such as Cebu, Davao and Iloilo are already under way.

In fact, its Cebu unit, which will be located inside the new RCBC building being constructed in the Cebu Business Park, will start operations around 2nd quarter of 2008.

“While we know that Metro Manila is still the heart of business in the country, we also recognize the immense business potential awaiting us in the country’s other high growth areas where many of our high networth Filipinos are,” he said.

RCBC Wealth Management was established in the late 1980s as a small unit servicing the bank’s biggest clients that has now become one of the most successful subsidiaries in the bank’s conglomerate.

RCBC is the country’s fourth largest private universal bank in terms of capital base with over 300 branches nationwide. In the last 12 months, RCBC opened 11 new domestic branches and four new branches in North America. It is a strong player in the remittance business with a wide presence overseas through remittance subsidiaries and tie-ups in North America, Europe and Hong Kong. RCBC is a member of the multi-industry conglomerate Yuchengco Group of Companies.       – Ted Torres