RCBC sells Bankard
MANILA, Philippines - The group of tycoon Alfonso T. Yuchengco is selling its credit card subsidiary again for an undisclosed amount.
In separate statements, the Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and Bankard, Inc. told the stock exchange on Monday, October 21, that the bank's unit, RCBC Capital, is selling its controlling state in Bankard to Philippine Business Bank's trust unit.
“The Board of Directors, in its special meeting held on 18 October 2013, approved the sale to Philippine Business Bank Trust and Investment Center on behalf of various clients the Bank’s and its subsidiary RCBC Capital’s 89% stake in Bankard, Inc," their statements said.
In a separate disclosure, Philippine Business Bank said the transaction was made "on behalf of its various clients."
A share purchase agreement was signed immediately after the October 18 meeting, they added.
"As part of the condition for the sale, all existing credit card operations of Bankard, Inc. will be assigned and absorbed, directly or indirectly, by RCBC, thru itself or a subsidiary or affiliate," RCBC said.
The PSE imposed a trading halt on Bankard shares from 9am to 10am Monday.
"RCBC expects to continue to operate the current credit card-related business of Bankard. No disruption on operations is expected from the disclosed transaction," the bank said. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals.
The Yuchengco group acquired Bankard in 2001 from PCI Equitable Bank, a product of the high profile merger between Equitable Bank and Philippine Commercial International Bank (PCIBank). The merged bank decided to keep Equitable's credit card arm instead of merging Bankard into Equitable CardNetwork's operations.
The Yuchengco group had previously sought to nullify the Bankard purchase after it found out it paid too much. There were previous efforts to sell Bankard to other interested groups, including GE Consumer Finance, a unit of GE Money Bank, a thrift and savings bank. The 2006 deal was eventually aborted.
Bankard was considered a pioneer in the local credit card industry. It was established by PCI Bank in 1981 and its strong partnership with Mastercard International in the 1990's made it a formidable player and a lucrative business. - Rappler.com
