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TOYOTA Financial Services Philippines Corp. has
secured regulatory approval for its venture into quasi-banking,
allowing the company to raise funds from the public for re-lending.
In a statement, TFS said the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) awarded the company with a
quasi-banking license.
“With the quasi-banking license
from the BSP, we can now participate in the development of the
Philippine capital market,” Dexter Pasion, TFS president, said.
A nonbank financial institution,
TFS must have a minimum capital of P300 million and a comprehensive
risk management system before it could operate as a quasi-bank.
As a quasi-bank, it can borrow
funds from the public for purposes of re-lending or purchasing of
receivables. The company however still cannot issue deposit
liabilities, which is the domain of banks.
TFS posted a net income of P157
million and assets of P10.1 billion in fiscal year 2008. The
company’s total capital stood at P1 billion.
TFS services the customers of
Toyota Motors Philippines through financing and leasing services, as
well as wholesale financing for dealers.
The financial firm is 60 percent
owned by Toyota Financial Services Corp., a leading financial
services group based in Japan and wholly owned by Toyota Motors
Corp.
The Metrobank group holds 40
percent of the local unit of Toyota, with Philippine Savings Bank
owning 25 percent and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. the
remaining 15 percent.
The BSP resumed issuing
quasi-banking licenses to investment houses and finance companies in
February 2007 after suspending it for seven years.
The lifting of the moratorium
supports the BSP’s aim to promote the development of the domestic
financial market and foster a sound and efficient financial system
for economic growth.
--Maricel E. Burgonio
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