Foreign Banks in the Philippines

Updated August 1, 2023

There are 32 foreign banks in the Philippines as of August 2023.

24  universal and commercial banks which are branches of foreign banks
(6 universal banks and 18 commercial banks)
  2  commercial banks which are subsidiaries of foreign banks
2 thrift banks which are subsidiaries of foreign banks
2 rural banks which are subsidiaries of foreign banks
2 digital banks which are subsidiaries of foreign banks
32 foreign banks —->>Please see lists farther down below

For account owners of Bank of America (BOA) and JPMorgan Chase whose accounts are based in the US:
Know that BOA and JPMorgan Chase in the Philippines do only institutional and investment banking, and not consumer banking. They do banking only for corporations, government agencies and other institutions.

For Wells Fargo account owners whose accounts are based in the US:
Wells Fargo does not have a bank branch here. Its representative office has ceased operations on May 31, 2021. The only Wells Fargo business left here is its business processing operation. Wells Fargo Enterprise Global Services (EGS) LLC-Philippines is located in Bonifacio Global City.

Wells Fargo in the US offers a remittance service called Wells Fargo ExpressSend for senders to the Philippines. Its partners are BDO, BPI, PNB, Metrobank, Cebuana Lhuillier and MLhuillier.

For account owners of ANZ: ANZ also does only corporate and institutional banking here.

CITIBANK has started closing down its consumer banking operations in the Philippines and in 12 other countries and focus only on institutional and investment banking in 2021. It has sold its consumer banking operations to Union Bank of the Philippines. As of August 2023, Citibank is still managing its website as usual, while completing the transition of its consumer banking branches, ATMs, call centers, online banking, mobile apps, credit card business, and other consumer services to Union Bank.

For foreign-issued ATM or debit cards:
You can use your Mastercard/Cirrus/Maestro, Visa/Plus, American Express, or China Union Pay at most ATMs here. Withdrawal fee is 200 to 250 pesos. KFTC and NYCE cards can be used at Bancnet ATMs.
Enter your desired amount in Philippine peso. What will come out of the ATM are Philippine peso bills.
Owners of US dollar accounts issued by Citibank Philippines can withdraw US dollars at Citibank ATMs, except the US Embassy ATM.

For foreign-issued checks:
You must have a foreign-currency account (your checks’s currency) here to be able to deposit a foreign check. Expect a clearing of around one month. There’s a deposit fee and a returned-check fee. Some banks also require an account age of at least 6 months for foreign-check deposits.

For US pensioners:
You can open a Philippine-based Direct Deposit account here in the Philippines or choose other ways to receive your US pension in the Philippines.

For UK pensioners:
You can visit the nearest branch of Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) in the Philippines and ask about opening a BPI account to receive your UK pension. BPI Europe PLC, located in London, has converted from consumer banking to wholesale banking, so expect some changes.
You can also visit the nearest branch of Philippine National Bank (PNB) in the Philippines. There’s a PNB Europe LLC, located in London.

6 Universal Banks which are Branches of Foreign Banks

  1. ANZ Banking Group Ltd. (from Australia)
  2. Deutsche Bank AG (from Germany)
  3. ING Bank NV (from the Netherlands)
    (formerly called Internationale Nederlanden Groep Bank NV)
  4. Mizuho Bank Ltd. – Manila Branch (from Japan)
  5. Standard Chartered Bank (from UK)
  6. Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (from UK; founded in Hong Kong)

Contact info for above banks here:
Branches of Foreign Banks in the Philippines — Universal Banks

18 Commercial Banks which are Branches of Foreign Banks

  1. Bangkok Bank Public Co. Ltd.
  2. Bank of America NA
  3. Bank of China Ltd. – Manila Branch
  4. Cathay United Bank Co., Ltd. – Manila Branch
  5. Chang Hwa Commercial Bank, Ltd. – Manila Branch
  6. CIMB Bank Philippines Inc.
  7. Citibank, N.A.
  8. First Commercial Bank, Ltd. – Manila Branch
  9. Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Ltd. – Manila Branch
  10. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd.
  11. Industrial Bank of Korea – Manila Branch
  12. JP Morgan Chase Bank NA
  13. KEB Hana Bank – Manila Branch
    (formerly Korea Exchange Bank)
  14. Mega International Commercial Bank Co. Ltd.
  15. MUFG Bank, Ltd.
    (formerly The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.)
  16. Shinhan Bank – Manila Branch
  17. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. – Manila Branch
  18. United Overseas Bank Limited, Manila Branch

Contact info for above banks here:
Branches of Foreign Banks in the Philippines — Commercial Banks

2 Commercial Banks which are Subsidiaries of Foreign Banks

  1. CTBC Bank (Philippines) Corp.
    (formerly called Chinatrust (Phils.) Commercial Bank Corp.)
  2. Maybank Philippines, Inc.

*** CTBC and Maybank do consumer banking here.

Contact info for above banks here:
Subsidiaries of Foreign Banks in the Philippines — Commercial Banks

2 Thrift Banks which are Subsidiaries of Foreign Banks

  1. Yuanta Savings Bank — thrift bank subsidiary of Yuanta Commercial Bank Co. Ltd., part of the Yuanta Financial Holdings Group in Taiwan

2. Wealth Development Bank (Wealth Bank) — subsidiary of South Korea-based multinational bank, Woori Bank.

    2 Rural Banks which are Subsidiaries of Foreign Banks

    1. SeaBank — is majority-owned by Sea Limited. (Sea Ltd.) which is a global consumer Internet company based in Singapore. Sea Ltd. owns Shopee, Garena, and SeaMoney.

    2. Welcome Bank, A Rural Bank — a subsidiary of Welcome Financial Group of Korea. Has plans of increasing its capital to convert into a thrift bank.

    2 Digital Banks which are Subsidiaries of Foreign Banks

    1. Tonik Bank is a subsidiary of Singapore-based Tonik Financial Pte. Ltd. It’s 60%-owned by Tonik Financial and 40%-owned by Philippine-based Camerton Holdings and Oak Drive Ventures Inc.
    2. UNO Digital Bank is majority-owned by Singapore-based financial technology company UNOAsia Pte. Ltd.

    Two Other Types of Foreign Banks in the Philippines

    1. Foreign Banks’ Representative Offices in the Philippines

    2. Offshore Banking Units

    2 Comments

    1. Werner Ebner 08/25/2017
    2. Unknown 08/03/2018

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