Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approved the application of Woori Bank, South Korea’s second-largest, to take over Wealth Development Bank, the financial arm of the Gaisano family’s Viscal Development Corp.
A news article posted on The Korea Times website quoted Woori Bank as saying it got an approval from the “Central Bank of the Philippines to purchase a 51-percent stake in the Wealth Development Bank.”
Woori Bank said it planned to complete the transaction in the first half of 2016.
Wealth Bank was established in 2002 and boasts of $170 million in assets, with 16 branches that employ 300 employees.
“Following the deal, Woori Bank now has 225 networks overseas. Through our customized overseas strategy, we aim to expand the number of networks to 400 by the end of this year,” the South Korean lender said.
Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. did not make any official announcement on the approval, only telling The Standard through a text message to “check out announcement in Korea Times today.”
Available information on its Web site said that Woori Bank is a bank headquartered in Seoul, South Korea and a subsidiary of the parent company Woori Financial Group. The bank was established in 1899, originally called Daehan Cheon-il Bank, and renamed Joseon Sangup Bank in 1911, then Commercial Bank of Korea in 1950s.
The Monetary Board’s approval of Woori Bank’s application to expand in the Philippines was the first approval given to a foreign bank this year. Espenilla earlier said the board was evaluating the applications of three foreign banks eyeing to locate in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, WealthBank, which was established in 2002, has 16 branches nationwide, including seven in Metro Cebu, four in Visayas-Mindanao and five in Metro Manila and Luzon.
Most branches are located at Ayala Malls where Metro Stores are the anchor tenants or in Pacific Malls which are owned by Viscal Development.
The bank joined the Bancnet ATM Consortium in 2010 and put up 16 ATMs, most of which are located in shopping malls.
