BPI acquires Philippine bank

BPI acquires Philippine bank

MANILA (AFP): Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) on Wednesday won a three-way takeover battle for Far East Bank and Trust Co., the country's fifth largest lender, firing up the consolidation of the financial sector.

The Far East board was in a special meeting Wednesday to decide whether to merge or swap shares with BPI, the country's third largest bank, officials from both banks said.

The 15-member Far East board includes four representatives from Sakura Bank of Japan, which holds the single largest stake in the bank at 25 percent.

The officials said BPI and its parent conglomerate Ayala Corp. beat out rival proposals from Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank), currently the country's biggest bank, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

A merger would vault the combined entity past Metrobank to become the largest bank in the Philippines, said acting Central Bank of the Philippines governor Alberto Reyes. A merged BPI-Far East would have total assets of 355.4 billion pesos (US$8.9 billion).