MANILA, Philippines – BDO Unibank (BDO) has forged a partnership with Hyakujushi Bank Ltd (HBL) to offer support to Japanese clients that conduct business in the Philippines.

The partnership – announced in a stock exchange disclosure on Monday, April 3 – aims “to further strengthen the relationship between these two banks as BDO provides banking support services to Japanese business entities who are HBL customers and have existing operations or plan to build or expand their businesses in the country.”

HBL is now the 16th Japanese bank partnered with BDO. Over the past 10 years, BDO has inked agreements with Japanese regional banks across the country’s prefectures. 

Incorporated in 1878, HBL is a regional bank based in Kagawa Prefecture that offers commercial banking services and has 132 branches. It also has around 60,000 corporate clients mostly located in industrial zones.

Meanwhile, BDO is the Philippine’s largest bank in terms of total assets, loans, deposits, and trust funds under management. BDO also has the largest distribution network with over 1,600 branches and 4,600 ATMs across the country.

In December 2021, the Sy-led universal bank partnered with Resona Bank Group, the fourth largest bank in Japan. – Rappler.com