RCBC eyes smaller bank to boost nationwide network

MANILA, Philippines - The Yuchengco-controlled Rizal Commercial and Banking Corp. (RCBC) is looking to acquire a small commercial bank or a medium-sized thrift bank with an extensive network in the Metro Manila area, the bank’s top executive said.

“We would like to reach 400 branches the soonest possible time, of which half will be located in the Metro Manila area,” RCBC president and chief executive officer Lorenzo V. Tan said in a press briefing.

“We want to expand our distribution network, and we are prepared to grow organically and through acquisition,” he added.

RCBC currently has a combined 330 branches, including the 117 branches of RCBC Savings Bank. It also operates a combined infrastructure of 424 automated teller machines (ATMs) nationwide.

Tan said their strategic goal is to reach 500 branches by 2012 with a desired ratio of two ATMs for every branch.

In 2007, RCBC acquired thrift bank Merchants Savings and Loan Association Inc. with 21 branches located within Metro Manila and outside the metropolis.

Last February, it bought Pres. JP Laurel Rural Bank with 10 branches in Batangas, Laguna and Mindoro Oriental. This acquisition, Tan said, not only triggered the commercial bank’s foray into microfinance, but likewise solidified RCBC’s presence in the Southern Tagalog area.

RCBC is presently the country’s fourth largest commercial bank in terms of loans and assets, servicing 1.8 million clients.

Over the past three years, RCBC had raised Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital amounting to a combined P21 billion, a large amount of which has been set aside for possible acquisition, funds to meet capital adequacy and risk management levels, and for sustainable capital expenditure.

Meanwhile, Tan said that they are looking at a 20-percent growth in net earnings for 2009.

“We expect our income to be more balanced than the previous years, growth coming evenly from the various income sources,” the RCBC chief executive said.