iBank, PBCom report normal operations

After suffering massive withdrawals late last week, officials of the International Exchange Bank (iBank) and Philippine Bank of Communications declared yesterday that the situation in both banks has normalized.

"The situation is now very good. It's very favorable," iBank president Ramon Sy told The STAR. "Last Friday we were dishing out cash. Today, we are pulling in cash." He said those who withdrew their funds from the bank have started putting back their deposits after realizing iBank is stable.

Sy said the depositors were convinced that the iBank was sound since it was able to service all withdrawals last Friday. The bank was forced to open until early morning on Saturday just to service its depositors. Sy refused to say how much was withdrawn from the bank but admitted it was "quite significant."

What greatly helped the bank, he said, was the financing it received from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). However, he emphasized that the funds were not emergency loans but proceeds from a transaction called repurchase agreement, under which iBank sold its government securities to the BSP with an agreement to buy these back in the future.

He would not say, however, how much cash the bank availed of but BSP sources said it amounted to P3.5 billion.

Sy said iBank stockholders were wiling to infuse P2 billion in additional capital to the bank if necessary. Despite the withdrawals, he said the bank's capital of 3.5 billion remained intact. He said they would pursue their plan to acquire Urban Bank, since it is interested in its 24 branches.

On the other hand, PBCom president Isidro Alcantara Jr. said the situation in their bank is back to normal after stockholders infused P2.7 billion into the bank, bringing its capital to P7.3 billion.

"The situation at the bank now is back to normal. In fact, clients have started to bring back their deposits as a sign of their full confidence and trust in the bank," he said.

Like Sy, Alcantara refused to say how much was withdrawn from PBCom nor would he disclose how much financing it availed from the BSP. But a BSP official said PBCom availed of around P2.5 billion in emergency loans.