BDO takes in foreign partner in brokerage unit

The country’s largest lender Banco de Oro Unibank has sealed a deal that brought in Japanese conglomerate Nomura as its partner in local stock brokerage unit PCIB Securities Inc.

PCIB Securities, a securities dealer and broker with a seat in the Philippine Stock Exchange, will be renamed BDO Nomura Securities Inc. and will be headed by Koichi Katakawa as president, subject to regulatory approval.

Following the transaction, BDO will own 51 percent of the joint venture, with Nomura holding the remaining 49 percent, the Sy family-led bank told the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.

“The joint venture intends to leverage the strength of both companies to create a strong platform to serve a fast-growing market,” BDO said.

Nomura Asia Investment (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Nomura), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings Inc., signed the joint venture deal with BDO in PCIB Securities.

“BDO’s market leadership and wide distribution network will complement Nomura’s strength in asset management, equity research and investment banking,” BDO said in the disclosure.

BDO Nomura will initially provide online trading services for local stocks to individual investors, and eventually expand its services to a broader client base.

This brokerage house was one of the subsidiaries acquired by BDO years ago when it merged with Equitable PCI Bank, the deal that paved the way for the bank’s rise as the country’s largest bank.

BDO has more than 1,000 operating branches and about 3,000 automated teller machines nationwide.

It also has a branch in Hong Kong as well as 26 overseas remittance and representative offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.