KB Kookmin Bank, South Korea’s leading financial services provider, expressed intention to put up a branch in the Philippines, a reliable source from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas told reporters.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said KB remained interested in penetrating the Philippine banking industry after a reported unsuccessful bid to acquire a stake in East West Banking Corp. of the Filinvest Group.
“The Korean bank has inquired, although not yet submitted the application,” the source said.
The source said uf the plan pushed through, KB would be the fourth Korean bank to enter the Philippines following the successful entry of Shinhan Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea and Woori Bank. It would also be the 12th foreign bank to enter the country since 2014.
The source said foreign banks remained interested to expand in the country not only to take advantage of a further liberalized banking industry but also to seize the opportunities in the growing economy, currently one of the fastest in the region.
Online news reports earlier said Kookmin was in talks with officials of East West Bank to acquire a stake in the bank, a report repeatedly denied by the local bank’s top officials.
KB is Korea’s leading financial services provider offering broad range of financial products and services. It is a core subsidiary of KB Financial Group, which was founded in 2008 to better serve clients, enable growth and deliver value in a rapidly-changing financial environment.
A source from the Bangko Sentral earlier said CIMB Group Holdings Berhad, a Malaysian universal bank headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, planned to open a branch in the Philippines before the end of the year.
The source said the policy-making Monetary Board might approve the bank’s application to operate domestically “within this year.”
Bangko Sentral officials said the country remained an ideal location for foreign banks because of the liberalized domestic banking industry and promising growth prospects of the economy.
Switzerland-based bank Credit Suisse recently signified its intention to put up a representative office in the Philippines.
The Bangko Sentral already allowed 10 Asian banks to fully operate in the country. These are Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.; Singapore’s United Overseas Bank Ltd.; South Korea’s Shinhan Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, and Woori Bank; Taiwan’s Cathay United Bank, Chang Hwa Bank, First Commercial Bank, Hua Nan Bank and Yuanta Commercial Bank Co. Ltd.