BDO: Wells Fargo partnership to grow remittance business

Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. (BDO), the bank controlled by shopping magnate Henry Sy, expects to corner a larger share of the money transfer business after it partnered with San Francisco, California-based lender Wells Fargo & Co. As of end-June, the Philippine lender had a 30 percent market share of remittances in the Philippines. BDO senior vice president Ismael Estela Jr. said Thursday that BDO — whose market share was 26 percent as of end-June 2009 — would grow further as it partnered with the San Francisco-based lender Wells Fargo & Co. Wells Fargo, which had merged with US lender Wachovia, was ranked by Fortune magazine as the 19th largest corporation in the US last year. The US lender has access to more than 10,000 banking stores and some 12,000 automated teller machines (ATMs) in North America, Estela said. The partnership was announced only on Thursday and after the link to BDO’s 2,700 pickup stations in the Philippines was established for Wells Fargo account holders in North America. “With this partnership with Wells Fargo, I think we should be able to grow our market share this year," Estela said. BDO account holders in the Philippines may avail themselves of financial services via more than 7,000 automated teller machines interconnected among the banking networks of Megalink, Expressnet, and Bancnet, he noted. “BDO is the country’s top remittance bank and Wells Fargo is likewise a very solid player in this arena. We certainly formed a formidable partnership — one that is designed to benefit our clients with even faster, secured, and reliable services," said Jonathan Diokno, senior vice president and head of BDO’s international remittance operations. Daniel Ayala, Wells Fargo executive vice president for global remittance service, emphasized the essential role of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the economy, saying OFW remittances account for 11 percent of the gross domestic product. “By helping our Filipino customers reach more locations throughout the country, we hope we can help them stimulate the economy of their homeland by supporting their family and friends," Ayala said. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expected total remittances to reach $18 billion this year, from $17.348 billion last year. —JE/VS, GMANews.TV