The United Coconut Planters Bank, more popularly known by its initials, UCPB, or by its old name, Cocobank, is one of the largest bank

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

s in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, ranking within the top twenty banks in the Philippines in terms of assets. The bank, owing to its name, caters heavily to coconut

Coconut

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...

 farmers, but also serves a wide-ranging clientele. It is one of two universal bank

Universal bank

A universal bank participates in many kinds of banking activities and is both a commercial bank and an investment bank.The concept is most relevant in the United Kingdom and the United States, where historically there was a distinction drawn between pure investment banks and commercial banks. In...

s not listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange

Philippine Stock Exchange

The Philippine Stock Exchange is the national stock exchange of the Philippines. It is one of the oldest stock exchanges in Southeast Asia, having been in continuous operation since its inception in 1927...

, the other being Allied Bank

Allied Bank

Allied Bank, formally known as Allied Banking Corporation, is one of the largest banks in the Philippines, ranking tenth in terms of assets...

.

History

UCPB started on May 15, 1963 as First United Bank (Philippines)

First United Bank

First United Bank, headquartered in Durant, Oklahoma, is the sixth largest bank in the state of Oklahoma with more than $2.05 billion in total assets...

. With only four branches at the time, it was a small commercial bank

Commercial bank

After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...

.

UCPB's origin can be found in Presidential Decree 775 (or P.D. 775) where President Ferdinand Marcos

Ferdinand Marcos

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...

 in July 29, 1975 instructed the Philippine Coconut Authority

Philippine Coconut Authority

The Philippines' Philippine Coconut Authority , abbreviated as PCA, is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Agriculture responsible for developing the coconut and other palm oil industry to its full potential in line with the new vision of a united, globally competitive...

 (PCA) to "formulate and recommend for adoption credit policies affecting production, marketing and processing of coconut and other palm oils" and to "to provide readily available credit facilities to the coconut farmers at preferential rates." The PCA, headed by Juan Ponce Enrile

Juan Ponce Enrile

Juan Ponce Enrile is a Filipino politician. As a protege of President Ferdinand Marcos, he served as Justice Secretary and then Defense Secretary under the Marcos regime. He later became one of the leaders of the 1986 People Power Movement that drove Marcos from power...

, then purchased the 72.2 percent of First United Bank owned by Jose Cojuangco

Jose Cojuangco

Jose Chichioco Cojuangco was a former Representative of the 1st district of Tarlac in the Philippines. He served from 1934 to 1946. Cojuangco is one of the patriarchs of the Cojuangco clan. He was the father of former Philippines President Corazon Aquino and the grandfather of current Philippines...

.

Cocobank being the official short bank name in the 1980s and the early 1990s.

In 1990, UCPB, along with today's Equitable PCI Bank

Equitable PCI Bank

Equitable PCI Bank was one of the largest banks in the Philippines, being the third-largest bank in terms of assets. With PCI Bank the largest bank before it was overtaken by Metrobank in 1995. It is the result of the merger of Equitable Banking Corporation and Philippine Commercial International...

, Philippine National Bank

Philippine National Bank

The Philippine National Bank is one of the largest banks in the Philippines, ranking fourth in terms of assets...

 and the now-defunct Far East Bank, formed MegaLink

MegaLink

MegaLink is an interbank network connecting the ATM networks of nineteen* members in the Philippines with a total of more than 2,921* ATMs nationwide and handling more than 795,000* transactions a day...

, one of the three main interbank network

Interbank network

An interbank network, also known as an ATM consortium or ATM network, is a computer network that connects the ATMs of different banks and permits these ATMs to interact with the ATM cards of non-native banks....

s in the Philippines. However, UCPB's ATM

Automated teller machine

An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...

 services date back to the 1980s, when it was one of the first financial institutions to offer ATM services. It established its pre-need services arm, Cocoplans, in 1993.

The bank is also heavily involved in social development projects and other charity

Charitable organization

A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

 works. Today, UCPB is one of the largest Philippine banks, with 212 branches and 215 ATMs nationwide. It is also the only universal bank to have a rural banking subsidiary, although this has since been merged into its thrift banking operations since late 2005.

Subsidiaries and affiliates

UCPB is divided into the following subsidiaries and affiliates:
Subsidiaries

• UCPB Leasing and Finance Corporation
• UCPB Properties
• UCPB Savings Bank
• UCPB Securities
• United Foreign Exchange Corporation
• United Funds

Competition

Due to its position as a universal bank, UCPB competes primarily against major Philippine banks like Metrobank

Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company

The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company , commonly known as Metrobank. It has a diverse offering of financial services, from regular banking to insurance. Metrobank is the second largest bank in the Philippines.-History:...

, Banco de Oro, BPI

Bank of the Philippine Islands

Bank of the Philippine Islands is the oldest bank in the Philippines still in operation and is the country's third largest bank in terms of assets, the country's largest bank in terms of market capitalization, and the country's most profitable bank...

, Land Bank of the Philippines

Land Bank of the Philippines

Land Bank of the Philippines , also known as LANDBANK or by its initials, LBP, is a bank in the Philippines owned by the Philippine government with a special focus on serving the needs of farmers and fishermen...

 and Philippine National Bank

Philippine National Bank

The Philippine National Bank is one of the largest banks in the Philippines, ranking fourth in terms of assets...

.

External links

• UCPB website

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/215387/former-gma-network-exec-elected-ucpb-chair