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EQUITABLE-PCI Bank Inc. (EPCIB) will absorb its
credit-card subsidiary, Equitable Card Network (ECN), as it merges
with Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO).
In a disclosure at the Philippine
Stock Exchange, EPCIB said its board resolved to fold its
subsidiary, ECN, into the bank or to the surviving entity resulting
from the merger with BDO.
The country’s biggest
credit-card issuer, ECN is both a card issuer and acquirer of VISA,
VISA Electron, MasterCard and JCB. It is also the only issuer of
American Express credit cards in the Philippines.
Equitable cards and its tie-ups
with banks and financial institutions nationwide account for the
largest share of the local market in terms of cardholder base and
gross sales volume.
Tessie Sy-Coson, EPCIB
vice-chairman, earlier said the lender would preserve and expand its
consumer business, particularly its credit card and overseas
Filipino workers network.
EPCIB and BDO announced their
merger last November, raising the merged entity’s asset base to
P613 billion, possibly dislodging Bank of the Philippine Islands as
the country’s second largest bank in terms of assets.
--Maricel E. Burgonio
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