One of Asia's leading regional finance publications, The Asset, recently recognized Banco de Oro- EPCI, Inc. (BDO) with its Triple A Country Awards for 2007.

The Asset cited the bank's US$ 1.67-billion merger with Equitable PCI Bank (EPCI) as the Best Deal in the Philippines. BDO's wholly-owned

BDO's merger with EPCI, hailed as a union of two established and well-run institutions, is the biggest ever M&A transaction to date in the banking industry. It catapulted BDO to second place in terms of asset size among all Philippine banks and increased its distribution platform to third largest in the country, with close to 700 branches and more than 1,200 ATMs deployed in strategic locations nationwide. BDO also saw its trust business increase significantly, with assets under management of P253 billion (US$ 5.88 billion).

The merger creates a solid foundation that aims to capitalize on the distinct strengths of the two banks. The combined entity will have leading market positions in most of its core business lines, among them corporate lending, consumer lending, trust banking, retail banking, remittances, and leasing.

The Asset also noted the strong contribution of BDO's investment banking subsidiary, BDO Capital & Investment Corporation, to the bank's achievements for 2007. BDO Capital was an active participant in the equity capital markets and emerged as Best Domestic Investment Bank in the Philippines for the second consecutive year. The bank accounted for 76 percent or P86.8 billion (US$ 2.01 billion) of the country's total equity capital market offerings of P114.7 billion during the 12 months to September 30, 2007.

BDO Capital acted as the issue manager and lead underwriter in six of the seven initial public offerings during the period, including the PNOC Energy Development Corporation and Aboitiz Power Corporation. Apart from these, it lead arranged, syndicated or participated in a total of P198.8 billion of notes, bonds and loan issuances for both the government and corporate entities, denominated in either local currency and in US dollars, focusing on infrastructure projects and structured financing.

These awards indicate BDO's continuing commitment to the pursuit of excellence and world-class standards in banking.