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By Maricel E. Burgonio Reporter
CHINA Banking Corp. (China Bank)
has partnered with Saudi Arabia’s
largest lender for the expansion of its remittance business.
In a statement, China Bank said
it tied up with National Commercial Bank (NCB) to tap into the
almost 1.5 million overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Saudi Arabia,
which is home to the biggest concentration of Filipino workers
abroad.
“This partnership allows
us to have a wider coverage of the Arab region, and offer our
services to the OFWs in Saudi Arabia,” said Ricardo Chua, China
Bank executive vice president and chief operating officer, said.
China Bank and NCB signed a
memorandum of agreement last April 15 to facilitate remittances
through the China Bank On-Time Remittance Card, which will be
launched soon.
Under the agreement,
Saudi-based Filipinos can send funds through NCB’s remittance
centers to their beneficiaries’ China Bank accounts. Beneficiaries
may also have incoming transfers credited to other bank accounts,
picked up or delivered door-to-door.
Account credits with another
Philippine lender, cash pick-up or door-to-door delivery.
With the tie-up, China Bank is
expected to attract more OFW depositors in Saudi Arabia.
The tie-up spans NCB’s
entire network of close to 270 branches and over 1,200 automated
teller machines (ATMs) in Saudi Arabia and China Bank’s combined
network of branches, ATMs, and partner payment outlets of almost
1,500.
The remittance card may
also be used for bills payment, and even for shopping at BancNet-accredited
merchants all over the Philippines.
“We are confident that
Filipino migrant workers in Saudi Arabia will find this a strong
alternative to the usual remittance modes,” said Emad Dafterdar,
NCB manager for remittance business and products development.
China Bank recorded a net income
of P 3.68 billion last year with total capital of P26.7 billion from
the previous year’s P25.0 billion, for a capital adequacy ratio of
16.03 percent.
NCB’s paid-up capital reached
$4.0 billion with total assets of $55.7 billion last year. Its
profit totaled $1.6 billion.
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