Chinatrust Philippines welcomed the Year of the Tiger with the opening of its Cagayan de Oro branch and Consumer Finance Center located at the Gateway Tower 1, Limketkai Center along C.M. Recto Avenue. Cutting the ceremonial ribbon were (from left) Chinatrust Vice Chairman William Go; Chinatrust President and CEO Mark Chen; Honorable Mayor of Cagayan de Oro City, Constantino Jaraula; and Limketkai Sons, Inc. President and CEO Alfonso Limketkai. The blessing and inauguration was followed by an Appreciation Cocktails at the Mallberry Suites Business Hotel, the highlight of which was a talk given by Feng Shui expert Greg Ciocson on “Welcoming Opportunities in the Year of the Tiger” (inset, left).

Chinatrust (Philippines) Commercial Bank Corporation, the only listed foreign bank in the country, will soon open a branch and a Consumer Finance Center at the Ground Floor, Gateway Tower 1, Limketkai Center, right at the heart of Cagayan de Oro commercial district.

“Our expansion strategy has always been to have a banking presence in the major cities of Visayas and Mindanao, and the opening of our Cagayan de Oro branch is consistent with this strategy,” says Chinatrust Executive Vice President and Retail Banking Head Anthony Robles.

Now on its fourteenth year in the industry, Chinatrust has carved its niche as one of the top commercial banks in the country today catering to the needs of mostly businesses and the working class individuals. It has also maintained its market leadership in the personal loans business.

“The vast majority of the Filipino population is composed of salaried workers, managers, and executives whose income are constant and who have a need for credit to smoothen out occasional glitches in their finances.” said Robles. “These individuals are usually more prudent in their use of funds and are more conscientious in fulfilling their obligations.”

Robles further revealed that it intends to keep its dominance in the personal loans business as it brings the product closer to its target market. “We have made our Salary Stretch personal loan product available in our branches in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Cebu, Davao, and soon in Cagayan de Oro,” continued Robles. “We have also improved our credit process to make it possible for a borrower to apply for a loan in the morning, and get his cash in the evening, without sacrificing our credit criteria.”

Chinatrust Philippines has one of the largest branch networks among foreign banks in the country. It is a subsidiary of Chinatrust Commercial Bank (CTCB), the largest and most awarded private commercial bank of Taiwan and one of the 200 biggest banks in the world in terms of capital.

CFHC Chairman renews support for local subsidiary. Chinatrust Financial Holding Co., Ltd. Chairman Dr. Jeffrey L.S. Koo recently visited Chinatrust Philippines to express his continued support for the local subsidiary and recognize the Bank's strong performance under the leadership of its new president and CEO Mark Chen. Photo shows Chinatrust Directors and employees cheering on as Dr. Jeffrey Koo (inset) unveils the new Chinatrust slogan "Taiwan Champion, Asian Leader" as the global battle cry for the coming decade.

Chinatrust Philippines recently inaugurated its Buendia-Pasong Tamo branch located strategically at the Ground Floor, Burgundy Corporate Tower, 252 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City. Over the years, Chinatrust has beefed up its presence in commercial areas and key cities nationwide catering to the banking needs of mostly businesses and middle to upper class individuals. Soon, Chinatrust will be opening its Cagayan de Oro City branch. Cutting the ceremonial ribbon are (from left) Mark Chen, President and CEO of Chinatrust Philippines; Roland Garcia, President of Trans-Phil Builders Corp.; Rey Anthony David, Jr., President of Great Wall Advertising; William Hon, Chairman of Chinatrust Philippines. Also present to witness the event are Chinatrust Directors and Senior Officers (from left) Eric Wu, Larry Hsu, Lory Borromeo, Tony Robles and Marty Escalona.

TAIPEI -- The Board of Directors of Chinatrust Financial Holding Company (CFHC) recently announced that it has appointed Michael B. DeNoma as chairman of its banking subsidiary, Chinatrust Commercial Bank (CTCB) effective June 30, 2009. DeNoma succeeds Charles L.F. Lo, who was in turn promoted to vice chairman of the holding company.

“Michael’s expertise and industry experience as one of Asia’s most senior international bankers make him ideally suited to provide Chinatrust with the insight and broad perspective to help position Chinatrust for long term success and elevate the Company into a regional financial services leader,” said Dr. Jeffrey L.S. Koo, Chairman of Chinatrust.

“CFHC is one of the most respected franchises in Taiwan and I am honored to become a Director of the Board as well as the Chairman of CTCB,” said DeNoma. “I look forward to working closely with the rest of the Board, the senior leadership team, and the entire Chinatrust organization’s hard-working, dedicated, and talented associates to create value for our shareholders.”

Prior to his appointment, DeNoma was chief executive officer of global consumer banking and a group executive director of Standard Chartered PLC. Before his stint at Standard Chartered, he also held executive marketing roles at Hutchison Whampoa, Citibank, and Pepsi Co., Inc.

CTCB is the largest and most respected commercial bank in Taiwan with solid track record of profitability and product leadership. Outside Taiwan, CTCB has subsidiaries in the Philippines, United States, Canada, and Indonesia. It has branches in Hong Kong, Kowloon, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh, Singapore, New York, New Delhi, and representative offices in London, Bangkok, Beijing, Los Angeles, Manila and Hanoi.

Chinatrust (Philippines) Commercial Bank Corporation president Mark Chen recently disclosed that its net income after tax was at Php 85.72 million in the first five months of 2009, a 379.16 percent surge over the Php 30.7 million loss it recorded in the same period last year.

The rise in net income can be attributed to the 17.14 percent growth in interest income which amounted to Php 127.78 million, and the steady rise in other income which grew by Php 43.42 million, or an increase of 54.43 percent.

Likewise, the Bank’s total deposits grew by Php 3.7 billion on a year-on-year basis, or an increase of some 24.64 percent from the Php 15.02 billion recorded as of end-May of 2008 to Php 18.72 billion for the same comparative period this year. As a result, the Bank’s aggregate resources increased to Php 25.71 billion this year compared to the Php 22.13 billion recorded the previous year.

“The Bank never wavered in its belief that opportunities exist even amidst unfavorable market conditions,” said Chen. “Through effective risk management and being selective in the markets that it served, Chinatrust was able to record substantial growth in its income despite the adverse economic conditions that continued to prevail world-wide.”

Even more compelling was the growth that the Bank experienced in its corporate loan portfolio, which increased by a phenomenal 68.70 percent, from Php 5.52 billion as of May, 2008 to Php 9.32 billion for the same period this year. “What made the increase in the Bank’s loan portfolio more significant was the marked improvement in the Bank’s non-performing loans, which as a percentage of total loans went down from 4.81 percent to 3.61 percent for the period under review,” said Chen.

“With the achievements that Chinatrust attained during the first five months of the year, I am confident that the Bank will be on track of the targets it has set for the rest of the year,” concluded Chen.

Chinatrust Philippines has one of the largest branch networks among foreign banks in the country. It is a subsidiary of Chinatrust Commercial Bank (CTCB), the largest and most awarded private commercial bank of Taiwan and one of the 200 biggest banks in the world in terms of capital.