Fil C. Sionil
Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO), the flagship institution of retail and mall magnate Henry Sy, bested all other financial firms in the country, both on the amount of assets under management (AUMs) and unit investments trust funds (UITF) for 2007.
Industry data indicated BDO handled some P274.1-billion worth of AUMs and P46 billion in UITF, edging out the country’s top two biggest lenders, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank) and the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).
The widening reach of BDO following its acquisition of Equitable-PCI Bank in 2006 and its longer operating hours, particularly in malls and other shopping outlets owned by its mother-firm, SM Investment Corporation, lifted the lender’s ability to attract more clients.
BPI and Metrobank, on the other hand, took the third and fourth slots in the amount of UITF being managed at P32.4 billion and P14.6 billion, respectively. The second top grosser for UITF was ING Bank, managing some P40.6 billion.
The attractiveness of UITF as a good investment vehicle for moneyed individuals as well as retirement funds, among others, is on a high swing, recovering from a slump it suffered nearly three years ago. Its returns were considered "very satisfactory."
Industry statistics, likewise, showed a reversal in the second third and fourth ranking in terms of AUMs with BPI trust department taking second top slot at P251.2 billion followed by Metrobank at P143.1 billion.
ING, meanwhile, ranked fourth with in terms P75 billion, making it the leading foreign institution with substantial trust accounts and AUMs.
Total AUMs of the 36 banks with trust licenses reached a record P1.172 trillion, the growth from more than P800 billion at the onset of the year in review traced to the decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to allow trust department of banks to access the high-yielding special deposit accounts (SDAs).
The higher interest rates offered by the BSP under the SDAs, one of the monetary tools used by the regulators to soak up the teeming cash circulating in the financial system, attracted more banking clients to shift their money from low-yielding regular and time deposits.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, owned and controlled by Ambassador Alfonso Yuchengco, landed fifth with P52.3 billion under its management.
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