Biz Buzz: Oh brother, part 2

A cast of characters and their respective brothers seem to dominate the news when it comes to stories about this unfolding $81-million money laundering caper that has gripped the country.

First, there’s Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. treasurer Raul Tan.

Though largely known to be a mild-mannered and unassuming person, some people swear that they saw Tan upset and dishing out cuss words as the sketchy details of the dirty money transaction started to emerge last February.

Bankers would understand why Tan would be upset.

As the head of the bank’s treasury department, the entry of the $81 million from New York would have passed through his unit first.

Tan is, of course, the brother of another well known treasurer who is always in the news. But his brother is not just any treasurer.

His brother is National Treasurer Roberto “Bobby” Tan, who is in charge of the entire country’s purse strings, especially the borrowing side.

And then there’s one high ranking banker who has been summoned to every single Senate probe on the money laundering issue, but has deftly managed to stay away from it.

That is none other than Nestor Tan, the president of BDO Universal Bank—the country’s largest and strongest financial institution—which is the banking arm of the SM conglomerate.

It’s unclear to a lot of people why the BDO chief is being invited to the Senate hearings, but his track record of appearances is zero out of three (the bank being represented, instead, by its lawyer).

Nestor (the head of the No. 1 bank) is the older brother of RCBC’s president-on-leave Lorenzo Tan (the No. 5 bank), but the two gentlemen have very different personalities and temperaments.

While Lorenzo is more of an extrovert (cars, lovely women, etc.), his older brother is more introverted and conservative (soft spoken, gray business suits, etc.).

And Nestor recently took over the helm of the Bankers Association of the Philippines, which was recently vacated by … none other than his younger brother, Lorenzo.

Anyway, how has Nestor managed to stay away from the harsh media glare of Senate’s televised hearings? Simple: the Senate’s subpoena was served to a certain BDO president named “Nelson” Tan (instead of Nestor Tan).

So strictly speaking, the real Nestor Tan was never invited by the Senate, and thus the head of the country’s biggest bank cannot be cited for contempt of a valid subpoena.  Daxim L. Lucas

Greenfield fast-tracks

Mandaluyong township

Real estate giant Greenfield Development Corp. is focusing on the development of numerous high-rise projects within its premier Greenfield District township in Mandaluyong City for 2016, pouring in as much as P10 billion for three major developments.

Biz Buzz learned that the masterplanned 12.8-hectare development bound by the Edsa and Shaw Boulevard thoroughfares will be characterized by residential and retail, as well as mixed-use commercial and office towers.

The district is also designed to have an abundant supply of green open spaces, a pedestrian-centric traffic flow as well as fiber-optic to the home connectivity for efficient telecommunications.

“We are focused on fast-tracking the construction of the three towers in Greenfield District to keep the exciting momentum of our flagship business district and to ensure that we are on schedule with our project delivery dates in the next year or so,” said Greenfield general manager Duane Santos.

Most recently unveiled was Greenfield District’s first high-rise, 28-story business process outsourcing office building, located along Mayflower Street. The project marked its first concrete pouring milestone last October 2015 and is currently at 12-percent completion.

The Twin Oaks Place condominium, one of the earliest developments in Greenfield District, is now on its second and final tower.

Construction of the East Tower is currently at 30 percent, with topping off targeted to happen by next year.

Nearby is another residential condominium Zitan—dubbed a “transit-oriented development” for its integration with the Shaw Boulevard station of the MRT line—currently at 60 percent completion, with toping off scheduled to happen within the year.

“These landmark projects are valuable in establishing the distinctive character and sense of place of Greenfield District,” added Santos. “We are committed to delivering these projects to our customers, clients and stakeholders on time and with the impeccable quality expected of Greenfield.”  Daxim L. Lucas

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