Publicly-listed BDO Unibank Inc. announced last Monday that it has partnered with Hyakujushi Bank Ltd. (HBL), a leading regional bank based in the Kagawa Prefecture, to serve the Japanese bank’s clients in the country.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), BDO said under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two banks, the lender will provide banking support services to HBL clients.
BDO explained that HBL customers must have existing operations or plan to build or expand their businesses in the country.
For the past 10 years, BDO has sealed partnerships with several Japanese regional banks strategically-situated in various prefectures of Japan, the world’s third largest economy, according to BDO.
With 132 branches including satellite offices and commercial banking services, HBL is the 16th Japanese bank that BDO has partnered with.
HBL was incorporated in 1878 and has 60,000 corporate clients, mostly located in the industrial zones. HBL expects to grow its roster of customers in the Philippines with new investments and business matching deals.
BDO has the country’s largest distribution network, with over 1,600 consolidated operating branches and more than 4,600 ATMs nationwide, and has 16 international offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. The country’s largest bank in terms of total assets also offers digital banking solutions.
Last month, Moody’s Investor Service (Moody’s) affirmed the “Baa2” local and foreign deposit rating for BDO on the back of expectations that it will benefit from the country’s pandemic recovery.
In a statement, Moody’s said it affirmed BDO’s Baa2/P-2 long-term (LT) and short-term (ST) local and foreign currency bank deposit ratings as well as Baa2 foreign currency senior unsecured rating.
The credit watchdog also said BDO’s (P)Baa2/(P)P-2 foreign currency senior unsecured medium-term note (MTN) and other ST program ratings, and Baa2 Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and Adjusted BCA were also affirmed.
In February, BDO said its net income increased to P57.1 billion in 2022, a 33 percent growth from the P42.8 billion it posted in 2021.
BDO said this was driven by robust growth across its core businesses. Gross customer loans grew 9 percent year-on-year while total deposits rose 14 percent due to the reopening of the economy.
