BDO gives up unit’s thrift banking license

BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s biggest bank,  has given up the thrift banking license held by a dormant subsidiary that became part of the group following the bank’s acquisition of Citibank Savings Inc. three years ago.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas recently approved the revocation of the authority of Banco De Oro Savings Bank Inc.—formerly Citibank Savings—to operate as a thrift bank and to conduct trust and fiduciary business effective this May 16, BDO told the Philippine Stock Exchange Friday.

The surrender of the banking and trust licenses of BDO Savings to the BSP is “part of BDO’s streamlining initiatives since the former has become an inactive subsidiary,” the disclosure said.

The operations of the thrift bank arm will eventually be merged with another BDO subsidiary, BDO Capital & Investment Corp., the bank said.

In 2013, BDO sealed the acquisition of 99.99 percent of Citibank Savings. At that time, the thrift bank arm of American banking giant Citigroup has 10 branches in the Philippines—eight in Metro Manila, one in Pampanga, and another in Davao.

BDO, which already has one of the largest distribution networks with more than 1,000 branches nationwide, expects to open 50 to 100 new branches this year.

The banking arm of the SM group sees net profit this year hitting a record of P26 billion, up by 4 percent from last year, on the back of a double-digit growth in earnings from core lending activities.

BDO attained 21.1 percent of its full-year profit guidance in the first three months.  First quarter net profit, however, fell by 11 percent year-on-year to P5.5 billion due to lower treasury earnings.

For 2016, the projected P26-billion net profit guidance is equivalent to a return on equity of 12.5 to 13 percent. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla