Philippines' China Bank caps 2012 with expansion

China Bank opened five branches in December, closing 2012 with a nationwide network of 325 branches.

Out of the total, 283 branches are for the main bank and 42 for the savings bank, China Bank Savings.

The new China Bank branches are Marikina-Gil Fernando Ave., CDO-Gaisano City Mall, and Trece Martires branches, simultaneously opened on December 28; and Batangas-Bauan and Cebu-Talaman branches, which started operations on December 21 and December 7, respectively.

A total of 15 branches were opened for the main bank in 2012. For the savings bank, 17 branches were added to its expanding network, including some of the branches of Unity Bank, the rural bank recently acquired by China Bank.

China Bank’s expansion plan will continue in the next three years as it is now targeting a 440-strong branch network by 2015. In the pipeline for the first quarter of next year are seven new China Bank branches, mostly in the provinces—part of the 15 branches planned to be opened for the main bank within 2013. Meanwhile, the savings bank will be more aggressive, eyeing 38 branches to bring its network to 80 by the end of next year.

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