(JOEY A. GABIETA)
TACLOBAN CITY — BDO Unibank Inc. plans to expand its presence in Eastern Visayas, including opening branches in Borongan City, Eastern Samar, and Sogod, Southern Leyte, as it seeks to nearly double its share of the region’s banking market.
The country’s largest bank by total assets currently operates 12 branches across Eastern Visayas, including four in Tacloban City, but its regional market share stands at only about 9 percent, significantly lower than its approximately 20-percent share in other parts of the country.
BDO executives disclosed the expansion plans during a press briefing in Tacloban City on Friday, September 4.
Albert Chu, BDO Unibank First Vice President and area head for Eastern Visayas, said the planned expansion reflects the bank’s confidence in the region’s economic prospects while allowing more residents to gain easier access to formal banking services.
“For Eastern Visayas, we have 12 branches here and four in Tacloban, but we are planning to have more branches,” Chu said.
The bank is looking at major economic centers in the region, including Borongan, the capital of Eastern Samar, and Sogod, Southern Leyte, where growing economic activity and improved infrastructure, including telecommunications, could support additional banking operations.
BDO executives said expanding its physical presence could help the bank capture a bigger portion of the region’s banking market while bringing banking services closer to communities that remain underserved.
Cyrus Polloso, BDO Unibank senior vice president and head of Region 7 Visayas and Mindanao, said the bank hopes to increase its Eastern Visayas market share to about 20 percent.
“Its actually low. In other parts of the country, our share is around 20 percent,” Polloso said.
He said increasing the bank’s reach could also encourage more residents to save through formal banking channels.
Polloso noted that some Filipinos hesitate to enter banks because they feel intimidated or embarrassed, while others are discouraged by the distance of bank branches from their communities.
“We have realized that some Filipinos are ashamed to go to the bank for some reasons, like being shy,” Polloso said, adding that BDO employees are being reminded to treat everyone as a potential client regardless of their financial standing.
The bank is also using community-based initiatives and alternative banking channels to reach areas where it has no physical branches.
“We have actually a network which goes to areas that are not served. We expand our reach through our network to reach as many people as we can,” Polloso said.
The expansion comes as banks increasingly combine traditional branches with digital and other technology-based services to reach customers.
BDO officials said the bank has strengthened security measures to protect clients’ deposits and prevent unauthorized access to accounts, while continuing to introduce digital banking services designed to make transactions more convenient.
For Eastern Visayas, the expansion of banking services could support a broader shift toward formal financial services in a region where many businesses, farmers, workers and households still rely heavily on cash transactions.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
