China Bank targets 700 branches in 5 years

MANILA, Philippines - China Banking Corp. is looking at expanding its branch footprint to 700 branches over the next five years as it actively undertakes customer acquisition and retention programs with the goal of becoming the bank of choice for clients.

For this year, the listed bank owned by retail and banking magnate Henry Sy is set to open 50 branches in both developed and unbanked regions complemented by over 900 ATMs and other electronic banking channels.

“Management sees the network growing to more than 700 branches over the next five years,” China Bank said.

The China Bank Group has a network of 541 consisting of 391 China Bank branches and 150 branches of thrift arm China Bank Savings (CBS).

“Amid a challenging banking environment, China Bank aims to strengthen its banking franchise in 2017 through its commitment to become the top banking partner for entrepreneurs and trusted financial services provider for the retail market,” it said.

China Bank’s segmented market strategy would ensure the matching of necessary expertise and products with each of the target markets – corporate, commercial, and consumer customers.

Its business would expand in high-growth sectors like utilities, infrastructure and real estate development, business process outsourcing, and telecommunication, among others.

“China Bank will continue to capitalize on its experience in the Filipino-Chinese segment, while building greater synergy with the supply chains and payments streams of the SM Group,” it added.

On the retail front, China Bank would strengthen both its internal client sourcing and branch referral programs, as well as effectively bundle housing and auto loan products and credit cards with mainstream banking services.

China Bank is raising P15 billion via a stock rights offering to beef up its resources.

The bank’s net income rose 15 percent to P6.45 billion last year amid the sustained growth in core businesses across all market segments.