The Philippine central bank has approved Taiwan’s Cathay United Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holding, to upgrade its representative office in the country to a full-service branch.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas deputy governor Nestor Espenilla has confirmed the Monetary Board’s approval for the Taiwanese lender.
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The nod will make Cathay United Bank the third foreign bank to operate in the region following a newly amended law that allows full entry of outside lenders in the Philippines.
Cathay United will need to put up an initial capital equivalent to PHP2.2bn ($49.48m), the minimum requirement for a commercial bank license with a single unit.
Cathay Financial Holdings executive vice president Alan Lee said: "This approval is the first case for Taiwan banks after the Philippine government opened up to foreigners."
The branch will start operations in the third quarter of 2015.
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