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THE
Philippine banking industry will continue to see a wave
of mergers and acquisitions as local banks deal with the
new risk-based capital adequacy requirements called for
by regulatory authorities.
According to Mark Jones, Citibank Philippines’ country
business manager for the global consumer group, a bank
has to “reach a certain” scale, expanding its network of
branches nationwide, to edge out the competition. So he
predicted that “mergers and consolidations will be there
in the next three to five years.”
Jones
spoke at the sidelines of Citibank’s launching of its
new Rewards Catalog for its credit card holders, and
announced the addition of Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay
Miles to the bank’s frequent flyer programs.
New
risk-based capital adequacy standards are being enforced
worldwide under the Basel II accord of the Bank of
International Settlements. The BIS is an international
organization based in Basel, Switzerland, that serves as
the central bank to all central banks in the world.
Beginning July 1, local banks will be facing higher
capital requirements to help them mitigate credit- risk
exposures. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has already
drawn up the measures by which banks will have to
compute their minimum required capitalization based on
specific types of bank licenses, i.e. universal banks,
commercial banks, thrift banks, rural banks, and
quasi-banks.
Earlier,
Lorenzo V. Tan, recently installed president and chief
executive officer of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.,
said he sees only five to six major banks remaining
after three years of bank consolidation, while the rest
will be servicing other market niches.
Meanwhile, Citibank credit cards on Tuesday unveiled its
new Rewards Catalog for Citibank Classic and Gold Visa
and MasterCard and Citibank Visa Platinum cardholders.
This year’s catalog features an extensive showcase of
must-have gifts and gadgets, vacation getaways,
pampering treats and shopping and dining certificates
which cardholders can redeem with ease, anytime, for
less points.
With the
addition of PAL’s Mabuhay Miles to the bank’s frequent
flyers programs, Jones said this boosts the cardholders’
choice of carriers and destinations. “It gives us
satisfaction by keeping our customers happy. Our
objective is for our cardholders, who have been asking
for it, to have an option,” he said, explaining that it
was the cardholders who asked for PAL’s inclusion.
For his
part, Henry So Uy, PAL executive vice president for the
commercial group and executive assistant to chairman
Lucio Tan, said: “We’re happy to become a part of
Citibank’s credit card Rewards program. We welcome this
great opportunity to reach out to their cardholders, and
offer our unique brand of service.”
Other
than PAL, Citibank’s credit cardholders may exchange
their rewards points under mileage programs with
Northwest World Perks, Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus,
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and Singapore Airlines Kris
Flyer.
“By far
this is the best rewards selection yet, and we have
outdone ourselves to give our cardholders what they want
and more. We hope that the catalog will show our
commitment to cardholders to make every purchase, every
encounter with their Citibank credit card a rewarding
experience,” Jones said.
Under
the rewards program, a cardholder earns a point for
every P30 charged to his card. Points earned have no
expiration and may be used to redeem various gifts and
vacation packages in the catalog, exchanged for travel
miles, and even be used to pay for card annual fees.
Citibank
is the recognized leader among local credit card issuers
with over a million cardholders in its portfolio. |
