BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s biggest lender controlled by the Sy family, said Monday unit One Network Bank Inc. acquired Rural Bank of Pandi in an attempt to gain stronger presence in Bulacan and Central Luzon.
BDO said in a statement Monday One Network signed an agreement with Rural Bank of Pandi Inc. to purchase the latter’s banking business in Bulacan.
“The transaction is seen to provide ONB a stronger presence in the province and fast-track its expansion in Central Luzon, one of the most progressive areas in the country,” the bank said.
The Andres and Santos families founded Rural Bank of Pandi in 1967 and transformed it into one of the best-performing rural banks with a strong SME presence in the province of Bulacan, where it currently has 12 branches.
“The transaction is still subject to closing conditions and applicable regulatory approvals,” BDO said.
BDO has been expanding its presence nationwide in a bid to seize growth opportunities in the regions.
BDO completed the acquisition of the Mindanao-based One Network in 2015 under a share swap deal. The universal bank acquired 99.95 percent of the outstanding capital of One Network.
Bank officials said earlier the acquisition of ONB expanded the regional presence of BDO in the country, particularly in its target market in the southern Philippines and opened up business lines for BDO. ONB has 98 branches focused in the Mindanao region.
BDO is a full-service universal bank which provides a wide range of corporate and retail banking services.
It has one of the largest distribution networks, with over 1,200 operating branches and 4,000 ATMs nationwide. It also has full-service branches in Hong Kong and Singapore as well as 23 overseas remittance and representative offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.