BDO Network Bank converts into thrift bank

Photo from BDO/Website

MANILA, Philippines – BDO Network Bank Inc., a subsidiary of the country’s largest lender, has secured regulatory approvals to transform into a thrift bank from a rural bank.

Parent firm BDO Unibank Inc. announced this in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday. It has yet to disclose additional details.

READ: BDO profits hit P19.7B in the first quarter

BDO Network Bank president Jesus Antonio Itchon confirmed to the Inquirer in October their plans to enter the thrift banking space and officially compete with market leader Philippine Savings Bank.

BDO bought One Network Bank in 2015, during which it only had around 100 branches exclusively in Mindanao.

Rebranded as BDO Network Bank, the country’s largest rural bank has since rapidly grown and now has around 500 branches across the three main island groups of the Philippine archipelago.