RCBC ties up with Korea’s largest bank

MANILA, Philippines — Yuchencgo-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has tied up with KB Kookmin Bank, the largest bank in South Korea, to provide banking services and financial information assistance to Korean companies operating and investing in the Philippines.

Under their business cooperation agreement, RCBC and the Seoul-based bank vowed to provide high quality financial services to corporate customers of both countries by adopting corporate customer tie-up program.

The partnership calls for a mutual cooperation for maintaining and increasing Korean corporate customer base, joint marketing for corporate customers of direct remittance service, and sharing know-how to improve service quality for corporate customers.

The business cooperation would also provide high quality products and services to corporate customers of both banks.

RCBC has a strong and long established relationship with Korean corporates since it started deals with Korean garment and shoe companies located in Bataan during the 1970s.

RCBC also had business relationship with Hana Bank in mid 1990s.

As the Korean business in the Philippines grew, RCBC established the Korean Business Relationship Office (KBRO) in 2014, currently manned by Jaehoon Oh and You Min Kim.

Kookmin Bank was founded in 1963 and is the No. 1 commercial bank in Korea in terms of total assets. It has 23 global networks in 10 countries including branches in New York, Tokyo, Beijing and Hong Kong but has no presence in the Philippines.

The largest commercial bank in South Korea is also looking at establishing a branch in the Philippines after Republic Act 10641 signed in July 2014 allowed the entry of foreign banks through the establishment of wholly owned operations with full banking authority.