No new branches for CSB this year
ABOITIZ-LED thrift lender City Savings Bank, Inc. (CSB) is not looking into putting up more branches this year, its chief executive said, as it focuses on solidifying its partnership with PETNET Inc.
City Savings Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Catalino S. Abacan said the bank will concentrate on reinforcing their relationship with PETNET — the country’s largest agent network of money transfer giant Western Union.
“[ Our] concentration is to strengthen the partnership, partnering [now] because in the past two years we expanded so fast from 35 branches and we ended [2016] with 106 branches,” he told BusinessWorld, when asked about CSB’s expansion plans for 2017.
The thrift lending arm of Union Bank of the Philippines ( UnionBank) opened six new branches to end the 2016 with 106 branches.
she has no plans to leave before her current term as Fed chair expires in a year.
NEW ADMINISTRATION
Speaking separately at the White House press briefing when asked about the administration’s view of Ms. Yellen, newly installed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he looks forward to meeting with her to continue the tradition of regular discourse between the Treasury and the Fed.
Ms. Yellen reiterated that falling behind on inflation could do more harm to the economy and possibly cut short the expansion. The Fed’s preferred inflation benchmark, the personal consumption expenditures price index, has been below the central bank’s 2% target since April 2012. It finished with a gain of 1.6% last year.
“Waiting too long to remove accommodation would be unwise, potentially requiring the FOMC to eventually raise rates rapidly, which could risk disrupting financial markets and pushing the economy into recession,” she added. Tom Porcelli, chief US economist at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York, said Yellen’s view was “that things are looking pretty good from the labor market perspective.”
“She’s had plenty of opportunity to back away from three hikes this year, and she did not,” he said.