China Bank to push Cebu expansion

CEBU, Philippines - China Banking Corporation (ChinaBank) plans to strengthen its presence in Cebu considering the resilient economic ambiance in the area.

In a press conference during the inauguration of the bank’s Cebu business center at the Cebu Business Park, China Bank executives announced their plans and their outlook on the country’s banking industry.

China Bank’s executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO) Ricardo R. Chua said that every branch that their company puts up opens up new opportunities for them to expand their reach into the market.

“Bad times in the economy will pass and we look at our bank expansions in a long term basis,” said Chua.

“The year 2009 will continue to be a difficult year for the banking industry but we at China Bank believe that during downturns, it is a good time to invest and expand our reach into the market. China Bank continues to be a strong brand and it continues to generate business from new licenses and new bank openings,” added China Bank’s first vice president Alexander C. Escucha.

As of the moment, China Bank branches have reached 225 nationwide, 222 of which are under the parent bank while three is under the China Bank Savings while their automated teller machines (ATM) have now reached to 337 composed of in-branch and off-branch sites.

Senior vice president and deputy group head for branch banking and the current president of China Bank Savings Samuel L. Chiong said that China Bank is at full speed with its expansion plans despite these challenging times in the economy, targeting to open 30 more branches by 2011 in its nationwide network.

He added that the bank also has further expansion plans for both their main and savings bank to increase their presence and market share here in Cebu which they consider to be the second largest city in the country and now the fastest growing local economy.

“We will continue to develop our Cebu operations and will constantly introduce more innovative products that suit our consumers’ varied banking needs,” said Chiong.

He said that so far they are exploring three possible sites and options for new branches here in Cebu and this will initially be located along the perimeter of Metro Cebu.

“We still have to consider and evaluate the market properly. If we will produce positive results for this initial plan then we can bring up our presence in Cebu. Ever since we first brought China Bank here in Cebu in 1948 our experience has been positive because it opened to us a much wider market and we have been able to achieve profitability,” said Chiong.

Meanwhile, China Bank’s vice chairman Hans T. Sy said that their current expansion is part of their five year plan when they started to really focus on their banking business.

“We are in the midst of a rapid bank expansion in bank history and we are very much on track in our plans and we decide to continue in this direction. As we grow, we will be looking at enhancing our banking services to improve our customer experience. Compared to BDO, China Bank serves its own niche market and we will continue to focus on personal services to help our clients with their finances,” said Sy.

“Among the other banks, China Bank has the longest history here in Cebu so we will have to focus more on our Cebu expansion. We know Cebu’s potential is very big considering it’s a progressive city and its in the middle of exciting developments so you can expect us to have more presence in the area,” added Sy.