Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) is planning to buy out its partners in Cebu-based thrift bank City Savings Bank (CSB), directly and through a subsidiary, to raise its ownership to 100 percent from the current 34 percent.

In a statement, AEV said its board has approved the proposal for the planned purchase at its regular meeting last March 10. The additional acquisition is conditional upon regulatory approval for the transaction.

AEV will acquire additional shares to bring its ownership up to 60 percent while its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pilmico Foods Corporation, will acquire the remaining shares in CSB.

Various Aboitiz family members own approximately 39 percent of CSB while third party shareholders hold the remaining 27 percent.

Should the acquisition by AEV be approved by regulators, CSB will gain greater access to resources to sustain its high level of growth, and to drive further expansion.

“The support that AEV can give CSB is vital to catapult the bank to its ambitious growth plan in the years to come,” said AEV president Erramon Aboitiz.

As a thrift bank, CSB is primarily engaged in offering loans to schoolteachers under the Department of Education's Automatic Payroll Deduction System. Teachers have been the main market of CSB since it began operations over 40 years ago.

The bank’s other products include salary loans to government and private sector employees, home mortgage and home improvement loans, as well as small business loans.

CSB currently has over 300 employees serving over 90,000 borrowers and more than 53,000 depositors. It has 12 full branches and 11 extension offices in the Visayas and Mindanao areas.