Citystate Savings Bank reels in P735M from CS Capital

Hong Kong-listed CS Capital Investment Pte. Ltd. has completed its acquisition of a minority stake in Citystate Savings Bank Inc.

This is a P735.9-million deal that would enable the bank to expand its market reach and speed up digitalization efforts.

As a result of the deal, Cabangon-led Citystate gave two board seats to CS Capital.

“The bank believes that it will benefit from the global experience, market reach and technological resources of CS Capital through its parent company, CSC Holdings Ltd. … a world-class financial center, with mature and diversified financial services and products and talents,” Citystate said in a stock exchange disclosure on Friday.

CS Capital, which is incorporated in Singapore, bought the shares for P16.97 each. That was a 2.85-percent premium over Citystate’s closing price of P16.50 on Thursday.

The bank first announced the acquisition in September 2024, saying CS Capital’s experience was in line with Citystate’s digitalization goal.

Citystate currently has 34 branches and 40 automated teller machines across the country.

It began developing its digital banking application in 2024, “to keep up with its customers’ demands and is awaiting approval” from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

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For its part, CS Capital said its entry into Citystate was a “strategic investment of the company and represents the company’s first step to implement [its] financial business investment strategy.”

“It also represents the effort of the group to enter into the mainstream financial business world and lays out the business map for the group in Southeast Asia, which has a great development potential,” CS Capital noted in its filing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In the first six months of this year, Citystate’s net income ballooned to P125.95 million from P9.99 million in the same period last year. This was thanks to higher interest income.

Other income, which includes service charges and fees and miscellaneous income, surged by 162.06 percent, Citystate said in its report.