BSP approves Banco de Oroa[euro][TM]s bid to issue P1.5-B LTNCD.
Byline: ANA MARIE MACUJA Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO) has obtained the approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to offer P1.5-billion worth of Long Term Negotiable Certificates of Deposit (LTNCD). In a disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), BDO said the...

BDO buys UOB Phils. bank branches.
Byline: LEE C. CHIPONGIAN Banco de Oro Universal Bank and United Overseas Bank Limited of Singapore yesterday concluded a share-swap arrangement under which BDO will acquire the 66 branches of OUB Philippines. UOB head office in the meantime will acquire shares in BDO, according to...

EPCIB posts P1.23-B net profit, up 69%.
Equitable PCI Bank reported yesterday a net profit of R1.23 billion in 2003, the highest it earned since the 1999 merger of Equitable Bank and PCIBank, helped by strong retail banking growth and higher fee income. The bank said its unaudited net income rose to R1.23 billion,...

Colonial Bank's Southwest Florida Region. (Bankers).
A former bank marketer, Michael Esper has been named as executive vice president and head of retail banking for Colonial Bank's Southwest Florida Region. He is responsible for overseeing the development and growth of the current and future branch offices for the region. He started as a marketing director...

A Big 'Pop' for Online Banking.
What's keeping your customers from banking online? The marketing people at KeyBank in Cleveland are betting that it isn't cost--it's (perceived) inconvenience. To counter this presumption, KeyBank mailed out 118,000 bags of popcorn to customers with checking accounts and an ATM or debit card--those whom KeyBank considered...

Power plug: A Wisconsin community bank wanted a low-cost but effective marketing campaign to promote its new internet banking service. (Feature).
Customers at the State Bank of Cross Plains, Wisc., know Jack. In the last several months, in fact, they've grown to know him well. Jack, who is a "personal banker, bill payer, loan officer and teller," was the "star" of a media campaign to promote State Bank's new Internet...

Teaming with possibilities. (Cover Story).
In today's competitive banking world, some financial institutions are reorganizing into interdepartmental, cross-functional teams to better collaborate in serving--and selling to--the customer. Here's what these banks are doing and how they are benefiting. Olympic medalist and boxer George Foreman may be right when he said, "A hero...

Korea Exchange Bank to expand in RP.
Byline: LEE C. CHIPONGIAN Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) is expanding its commercial banking operations in the country through more corporate loans and other financial services including remittances. KEB is one of the largest bank in South Korea and third biggest foreign bank in the Philippines...

Charter One Throws a Fastball.
Banking is a little like baseball: You throw your best pitch out there and hope somebody swings at it. At Cleveland's Charter One Bank--to stretch an already-strained metaphor--the pitch is so successful that the game's gone into extra innings. In an effort to introduce its new electronic...

Union Bank of California cuts branches.
Byline: EDWARD RUSSO The Register-Guard Union Bank of California will trim its Pacific Northwest operations on April 30 by closing its lone downtown Eugene branch and a branch in Wenatchee, Wash. The San Francisco-based bank said it has shifted focus in the Northwest from trying...