MANILA, Philippines ? Upbeat on prospects on retail banking, the Aboitiz group is raising its stake in Cebu-based thrift bank City Savings Bank (CSB) to attain full control by buying out other shareholders.

In a press statement, Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) announced plans to increase ? directly and through a subsidiary ? its ownership in CSB to 100 percent from the current 34 percent.

The AEV board approved the proposal for the planned purchase at its regular meeting on Wednesday but the additional acquisition is conditional upon regulatory approval for the transaction.

AEV will acquire additional shares to bring its ownership up to 60 percent while its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pilmico Foods Corp., will acquire the remaining shares in CSB, the group's second banking arm after Union Bank of the Philippines.

Various Aboitiz family members own approximately 39 percent of CSB while third party shareholders hold the remaining 27 percent.

As a thrift bank, CSB is primarily engaged in offering loans to schoolteachers under the Department of Education's "Automatic Payroll Deduction System." Teachers have been the main market of CSB since it began operations over 40 years ago. The bank?s other products include salary loans to government and private sector employees, home mortgage and home improvement loans, as well as small business loans.

CSB currently has over 300 employees serving over 90,000 borrowers and more than 53,000 depositors. It has 12 full branches and 11 extension offices in the Visayas and Mindanao areas.

The bank has total capital funds of over P700 million and total resources of over P6 billion. CSB has one of the best operating efficiencies in the thrift banking industry with a low past due ratio and among the highest capital adequacy ratios.