Security Bank Corporation (PSE: SECB) and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) today completed the strategic partnership deal signed last January 14, 2016. Security Bank today received capital investment of Php 36.9 billion from BTMU. In turn, SECB issued to BTMU 150,707,778 common shares and 200,000,000 preferred shares, representing BTMU’s 20% ownership of the voting stock in Security Bank. The strategic partnership was earlier approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on February 24, 2016.
BTMU is now the second largest shareholder of Security Bank. Security Bank is now an equity affiliate of BTMU. The Dy Group remains as the biggest shareholder of Security Bank with majority voting control.
In a special SECB Board Meeting today, BTMU’s nominees Mr. Takayoshi Futae and Mr. Takahiro Onishi were elected to the Board of Directors of Security Bank. Mr. Futae is the Managing Executive Officer in charge of Japanese Corporate Credit of BTMU based in Tokyo. Mr. Onishi was Deputy General Manager for Global Corporate Banking of BTMU in Japan.
“We welcome BTMU’s representatives to the Security Bank Board. We are happy to share with our customers and stakeholders the good news that our partnership deal with BTMU has been completed today. With our bigger capital and the combined strengths of Security Bank and BTMU, we look forward to serving our customers better than before,” said Mr. Alberto S. Villarosa, Chairman of the Board of Security Bank.
Mr. Go Watanabe, Chief Executive Officer for BTMU Asia & Oceania, said that the strategic alliance with Security Bank is very much aligned with the bank’s expansion plan in Asia. “We are very excited with the opportunity to work closely with Security Bank. We have started exploring various areas for collaboration including work-site business and PPP projects. By partnering with Security Bank, we can expect to expand our business platform and identify new business areas for BTMU in the Philippines.”
As a result of BTMU’s 20% equity investment, Security Bank’s shareholder capital increased to Php 90.2 billion pro-forma as of April 1, 2016 from Php 53.2 billion as of December 31, 2015, while SECB’s book value per share increased by 36% to Php 119.53 pro-forma as of April 1, 2016 from Php 88.17 as of December 31, 2015. This puts Security Bank among the five largest private domestic universal banks in the country by capital. The additional capital will be used to accelerate the execution of Security Bank’s growth strategies.
“We will be able to more effectively deliver our service-oriented BetterBanking brand to our customers through a larger branch network and a more comprehensive range of financial services. We hope to accelerate growth of our retail banking business as well as better coverage of the SME sector. With BTMU’s expertise in project finance, we expect to participate more actively in PPP and infrastructure projects. Additionally, in partnership with BTMU, Security Bank will be able to penetrate the Japanese business community,” said Mr. Alfonso L. Salcedo, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Security Bank.
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU), a member of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG), is Japan’s premier bank, which has a global network spanning close to 50 countries and offers an extensive scope of commercial and investment banking products and services to businesses, governments and individuals worldwide. MUFG is one of the world’s leading financial groups with key strengths in commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management and leasing.