Biz Buzz: BDO Network to heat up thrift bank competition

The thrift banking space may soon get a new player, and which bank would be more suited than the country’s largest?

We’re talking about BDO Unibank Inc., the banking arm of the SM Group that is currently worth around P846 billion.

Nearly a decade ago, BDO absorbed One Network Bank, which then had only around 100 branches exclusively in Mindanao.

Now rebranded as BDO Network Bank, the country’s largest rural bank has since rapidly grown and now has around 500 branches across the country’s three main island groups.

This now begs the question: What’s next?

For BDO Network Bank president Antonio Itchon, the next step is to swim in a bigger pond: the thrift banking space, in which the Metrobank Group’s Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) is the current market leader.

This is, of course, a wise move by BDO Network Bank since it has managed to penetrate various provinces in the country that originally did not have any bank in sight.

It also comes as a timely decision. As you may know, PSBank lost a fierce competitor in 2022 when BPI Family Savings was absorbed by parent firm Bank of the Philippine Islands.

And the rural bank upgrade is not new in the industry.

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Years ago, Bank of Makati, previously the country’s largest rural bank, also took a shot at becoming a savings bank.

With BDO’s reputation for rapid growth—becoming the Top 1 bank in the Philippines from just Top 10 in less than a decade—the “savings bank” status should not come as much of a challenge.

Still, Itchon tells Biz Buzz they’re still waiting for some regulatory documents before making this could be realized.

Who knows? Maybe more BDO Network Bank branches may just sprout soon.