The Philippine central bank has given Taiwan’s Cathay United Bank the go ahead to upgrade its representative office in the Philippines to a full-service branch, making it the third foreign bank to benefit from a new law that eased the entry of outside lenders. Deputy governor Nestor Espenilla said the central bank’s policy-making monetary board has approved the application. He said Cathay United is required to put up an initial capital equivalent to 2.2 billion pesos ($49.48 million), the minimum requirement for a commercial bank license with a single unit. Cathay United Bank is a subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holdings, which in December bought 20% of mid-sized Philippine bank Rizal Banking Commercial Corp for 17.92 billion pesos.
