Malaysia’s CIMB unveils first Philippine branch

MANILA, Philippines — Kuala Lumpur-based CIMB Group opened its first retail branch in the Philippines more than a year after obtaining a green light from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to establish banking operations in the country.

BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said CIMB Bank Philippines Inc. started its operations last Dec. 3.

Fonacier said the regulator issued the corresponding Certificate of Authority to Operate as a commercial bank to CIMB Bank Philippines last Oct. 25 after it was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last February.

The BSP’s Monetary Board, through Resolution No. 1891, approved the application of CIMB Bank Berhad to operate a branch in the Philippines in November last year.

CIMB also has presence in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos. Beyond ASEAN, the CIMB Group has market presence in China, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Korea, the US and UK.

In 2012, the Malaysian bank tried, but failed to establish a presence in the Philippines after it entered into an agreement with diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) in 2012 for the acquisition of the listed company’s 58 percent stake in Bank of Commerce for about P12 billion.

However, the transaction was called off a year after as parties failed to reach a deal even after discussions were extended after the lapse of the memorandum of agreement (MOA).

Malaysia’s second largest financial services provider and one of ASEAN’s leading universal banking groups has the most extensive retail branch network in the region with around 900 branches.

CIMB Bank is the first Malaysian bank and 12th foreign bank to be granted BSP’s approval to operate under Republic Act 10641 – an act that allows the entry of foreign banks into the Philippines through the establishment of wholly-owned operations with full banking authority – that was signed by former president Benigno Aquino III in July 2014.

These include Taiwan’s Hua Nan Commercial Bank Ltd., Cathay United Bank, Yuanta Bank, First Commercial Bank, and Chang Hwa Bank Commercial Bank Ltd.; Korea’s Shinhan Bank, the Industrial Bank of Korea, and Woori Bank; Sumitomo Mitsui of Japan; United Overseas Bank Ltd. of Singapore, CIMB Bank of Malaysia, and Beijing-based Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.