| OFW bank to raise P1.2 B from Tier 2 capitalization plan |
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Land Bank and the DBP was supposed to put in P350 million each to "initiate" the bankʼs fund raising ventures. Bank president and CEO Rolando L. Macasaet said these were just "exploratory talks". In the meantime, he said his board of directors has yet to approve of the Tier 2 plan, but he is hoping to raise the capital in the next six months to a year to fully operate as a government bank for fund transfers and migrantʼs remittances. Postal Bank is overhauling its finances and operations to become a state-owned OFW (overseas Filipino workersʼ) Bank. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas recently granted it an FCDU (foreign currency deposit unit) license to allow it to accept dollar deposits. To access a global network for its planned remittances business, Postal Bank signed an agreement with the World Savings Banks Institute (WSBI) to tap its 193,000 banking network worldwide. Combined, WSBI President Ma. Jose Antonio Olavarrieta Arcos said they have one-third of the global remittances, which the World Bank has estimated at least 0 billion a year. "We can reduce the cost of remittances and give (migrant workers) access to finance wherever they are," he told reporters during a short briefing after the signing in Macasaet said the bank, with 300 branches nationwide, will be able to link up with the WSBIʼs 1,100 financial intermediaries and 103 institutions from 89 countries including European Savings Banks Group. The central bank was supposed to review the proposed OFW bank using Philippine postal facilities to remit and transfer funds. The fist requirement the BSP will be looking at is the bankʼs capital base, which needs beefing up. "(The government) has to strengthen the capital base of Postal Bank first and reposition it as an OFW bank. They also need to study how they can utilize the network of post offices," sources said earlier, who also described the plan as "a logistics nightmare." The crucial part of ensuring a secure OFW bank is controlling the flow of money: entry point of cash and fund transfers. "In the remittance business it is important to watch out for the flow of money and the transfer of cash," sources explained. Otherwise, fund transactions will be open to all sorts of pilfering. As of February remittances from OFWs coursed through commercial banks reached $ 1.1 billion. The full year forecast is $ 14.1 billion, up from 2006ʼs $ 12.8 billion. |
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