Producers Savings Bank buys 2 more rural banks

Pasig-based Producers Savings Bank Corp. continued to gobble up more rural banks amid calls from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for smaller banks to consolidate.

The country’s 14th largest thrift bank in terms of assets announced in its website it has recently acquired Rural Bank of Barotac Nuevo (Iloilo) Inc. and Rural Bank of Sibalom (Antique) Inc.

Andres Cornejo, president and CEO of Producers Bank, said the bank has been grabbing every opportunity to acquire banks via mergers and acquisitions to avail itself of incentives from the BSP and the state-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC).

The thrift bank has so far acquired 15 banks including Rural Bank of Bustos Inc. Rural Bank of Sto. Domingo (Nueva Ecija) Inc., Bangko Rural ng Pasacao (Camarines Sur) Inc. and Bangko Rural ng Magarao (Camarines Sur) Inc.

Producers Bank said the acquisitions would further fasttrack its branch network expansion resulting in sustained growth in assets and profits. The scheme also helps the bank avail of various incentives and regulatory benefits from BSP such as but not limited to additional branch licenses.

With the merger, Producers Bank now has 168 branches nationwide and total resources of P15.7 billion as of end-June.

Producers Bank has launched a plan to establish a branch network of 300 branches nationwide by 2020.

The government continues to provide incentives under the Consolidation Program for Rural Banks (CPRB) to encourage mergers and consolidations among small banks particularly rural banks to further strengthen and enhance the viability of the banking system.

The CPRB aims to improve financial strength, enhance viability and generate better return to shareholders; strengthen management and governance; generate synergies and economies of scale through common infrastructure, systems and resources; as well as expand the market reach of rural banks.