Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation

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The Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) (simplified Chinese: 中华银行; traditional Chinese: 中華銀行; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Yínháng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tiong-hôa gîn-hâng) was established in 1960 as a development bank and is licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for both commercial and investment banking. It is one of the largest universal banks in the Philippines with total consolidated resources of Php 772.11 billion ^[5]

RCBC is majority-owned by the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC), one of the oldest and largest conglomerates in Southeast Asia covering over 60 businesses which include the non-life insurance company, Malayan Insurance, a life insurance company joint venture with Sun Life Financial Philippines, SunLifeGREPA Financial, Inc.; the construction company EEI Corp.; educational institutions; and vehicle dealerships. Other significant investors of the bank include the World Bank's International Finance Corporation and Cathay Life Insurance Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holding., Ltd.

Recent Developments[]

- Launches its virtual banking platform DiskarTech ^[6][7][8]

- Creates a wholly owned rural bank that will engage in digital banking.^[9][10][11]

- Issues first US dollar sustainability bonds.^[12][13]

- Raised PHP15 billion in Peso Bond, the Philippines’ first green finance framework under the ASEAN Green Bond Standards.^[14][15][16]

- RCBC Savings Bank is merged with RCBC.^[17][18][19]

History[]

Early years[]

RCBC opened for business as a small development bank in 1960, then went through rapid expansion to become the preferred banker to a wide range of markets: the Filipino-Chinese market, the corporate market, locators in the export processing zones, the middle market, and the consumer/ retail market.

In 1964, RCBC marked a significant presence in the Filipino-Chinese business community with the opening of its first branch in Binondo. In 1967, this foothold was strengthened when Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco, founder of the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC), assumed the Chairmanship of the board. Because of his strong ties with the Filipino-Chinese business community and the bank's record in serving this market, the Filipino-Chinese market has remained to be one of the bank's major market niches.^{[citation needed]}

The 70s[]

In 1973, Chairman Yuchengco deemed it crucial to invite two international banks to raise the level of banking expertise of RCBC in trade financing, international banking, credit control, and systems and procedure to global standards. These were the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Co. of Chicago, USA (CONNILL) and The United Financial of Japan. The tie-up with these banks reinforced the role of RCBC among corporate clients who preferred institutions with international banking expertise. Further, the affiliation with The United Financial of Japan opened another market for RCBC: the Japanese market. Together, the corporate, the Filipino-Chinese and Japanese markets account for a substantial share of the bank's portfolio.

The 80s[]

The period marked the rapid branch expansion for the bank. While most of its peers were establishing branches within Metro Manila, RCBC pursued branch expansion in key growth areas like the export processing zones. This enabled the bank to tap and forge long-term relationships with the foreign locators especially those in the semiconductor industry.

Anticipating bigger things to come, RCBC successfully listed its shares in the Philippine Stock Exchange in 1986. The following year, RCBC diversified into the retail market with the introduction of private banking, home mortgage, car financing and the RCBC Credit Card.

The 90s[]

The establishment of the RCBC's thrift bank arm - the RCBC Savings Bank in 1996 was an indication of RCBC's strategic thrust of becoming a major player in the retail market. This has been supported by the acquisition of a large thrift bank - the Capitol Development Bank in 1998.

The expanded branch network of 287 branches and 5 extension offices, the opening of foreign offices in Hong Kong (RCBC International Finance, Ltd.) in 1979, in the US (RCBC California International, Ltd.) in 1993 and in Italy (RCBC Telemoney Europe) in 1995 and affiliations with offshore banks and money transfer agencies, stabilized the position of RCBC in the remittance business. The bank now accounts for more than 10% of the remittance business.

On top of a banking business, the bank has equity holdings in companies engaged in power generation, automotive assembly, thrift banking, food manufacturing, etc. RCBC entered into a joint venture agreement with and Mitsubishi Corp. of Japan and the Ayala Group to produce the well-engineered and popular Honda cars for the Philippine market. Together with another Yuchengco Group flagship, the House of Investments, and the Enron Corp., it put up the Subic Power Corp. (SPC), a diesel-fired 116-megawatt power plant built under the Build-Operate-Transfer scheme.

To strengthen its position in the capital market, the bank fully acquired the Philippine Pacific Capital Corp. from its partners and renamed it RCBC Capital Corp. It entered into a joint venture agreement with Isuzu Corp., Mitsubishi Corp. and the Ayala Corp. to form Isuzu Motors Phils. Co., Ltd., which is into the assembly, manufacturing, importation and distribution of AUVs, pick-ups and medium- and big-sized trucks and buses. It has equity participation in Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. In November 1996, RCBC joined Agila Holdings, Itochu and Hacienda Luisita in putting up the Luisita Industrial Park Corp., a 300-hectare industrial park for Japanese investors. Together with Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp., it forged a tie-up (1997) with Japan's largest life insurance company, the Nippon Life Insurance Corp., forming a new joint venture life insurance company - the Nippon Life Insurance Company of the Philippines. Other equity investments of RCBC are in LGU Guarantee Corp, a joint BAP/DBP guarantee institution to cover 85% of local government's unit debts; in Lima Land, Inc., a real estate company involved in the development of a 440 hectare industrial park in Lipa/ Malvar; in KG Investments Holdings, Ltd. with the Koo family and in RCBC Land, Inc., a joint venture between RCBC and Pan Malayan Management and Investments Corporation. The company's maiden project is the RCBC Plaza, the new home of RCBC. The project is a joint venture with the Government (of Singapore) Investment Corporation.^{[citation needed]}

2000s[]

- Acquired 67% stake in Bankard Inc.^[20]

- Acquired Merchants Bank to kickstart microfinance lending in Mindanao.^[21]

- Acquired JP Laurel Rural Bank in Batangas to expand microfinance operations to Luzon.^[22][23]

- Formed alliances with IFC and CVC Capital Partners ^{[24][25][26][27]}

- To minimize the bank's carbon footprint, on 28 October 2013, RCBC's microfinance subsidiary, Rizal Microbank opened the very first banking office made of recycled shipping container vans in the Philippines.^[28][29]

- Acquired First Malayan Leasing and Finance Corporation and its subsidiary Malayan Rental to enter equipment leasing business.^[30][31]

- Formed partnership with Cathay Financial Holdings Group.^[32][33]

Subsidiaries[]

RCBC Capital Corporation[]

RCBC's Investment banking arm which offers investment banking and financial consultancy services which include (i) the underwriting of equity, quasiequity and debt securities on a firm or best efforts basis for private placement or public distribution; (ii) the syndication of foreign currency or peso loans; and (iii) financial advisory services.

RCBC Securities, Inc.[]

A wholly owned subsidiary of RCBC Capital, is engaged in the electronic and traditional trading of listed securities and in providing corporate and market research.

RCBC Bankard Services Corp www.rcbcbankard.com.[]

A wholly owned subsidiary of RCBC Capital engaged in providing services to the credit card business of the bank.

RCBC Forex Brokers Corporation[]

Incorporated in 1998. RCBC Forex is primarily engaged in dealing and brokering currencies in foreign exchange contracts with local and international clients.

Rizal Microbank (formerly Merchants Savings and Loan Association, Inc.)[]

Was acquired by RCBC to engage in microfinancing and development of small businesses. Rizal Microbank has 23 microfinance lending branches with operations in Southern Luzon and Mindanao.

RCBC Leasing and Finance Corporation (formerly First Malayan Leasing and Finance Corporation )[]

A pioneer in the leasing and financing industry in the Philippines as the company started its operations in 1957. RCBC Leasing is a non-bank financial institution with a quasi-banking license granted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. It serves the requirements of corporate, commercial and consumer markets through its innovative loans, leases and investment products.

Controversies[]

Bangladesh Bank[]

In February 6, 2016 RCBC became part of the Bangladesh Bank cyber heist where hackers used the SWIFT network to send fraudalent fund transfer instructions to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. $81 million dollars was transferred to 4 fictitious RCBC bank accounts.^[34] One manager operating a Makati branch Maia Santos Deguito where the money was withdrawn was charged with money laundering and the bank fined by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas PHP1 billion for the incident.^[35] The bank was also sued by the Bangladesh Bank in the US but dismissed.^[36]

See also[]

• BancNet

References[]

External links[]

Media related to Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Reuters, Stock Quote
• Reuters, Analyst Research, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (Philippine Stock Exchange)
• Reuters Full Description