Sy-led bank creates subsidiary for mass market

MANILA, Philippines - China Banking Corp. created a subsidiary from its recent bank acquisition to reach a wider client base. China Bank said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the renaming of The Manila Banking Corp., which it acquired last year, to China Bank Savings, Inc. China Bank Savings will be re-launched this quarter, parent firm China Banking Corp. said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange. The new bank's outstanding equity stood at P1.062 billion as of June 30. "We see the savings bank as a means to strengthen our operations and to attract more of the mass market," said Samuel L. Chiong, China Bank senior vice president. Chiong is also the president of China Bank Savings. China Bank, led by the family of retail magnate Henry Sy, acquired Manila Bank and its 75 branches from the Puyat family in June 2007. It converted 25 of the Manila Bank branches and integrated them to China Bank's network from December 2007 to February 2008. Other Manila Bank branches were consolidated with existing China Bank branches, while others were closed. China Bank said the remaining branch licenses from the Manila Bank acquisition will be used "to expand the networks of both the main bank and the savings bank in then next three years." China Bank currently has 199 branches and wants to have 300 branches by 2010. The expansion will be financed by China Bank's fund-raising program with the offering of P5 billion worth of fixed-rate debt papers. - GMANews.TV