Flashback: Banco de Oro + Equitable PCI Bank = BDO

BDO Unibank, Inc., popularly known as BDO, became the largest bank in the Philippines following the merger of Banco de Oro with Equitable PCI Bank in 2007. It belongs to the SM Group of Companies, a conglomerate owned by Henry Sy. According to Forbes magazine, Sy is the top billionaire in the Philippines as of 2011, having a net worth of $9.1 billion.

Prior to the merger, about 25 percent of Equitable PCI Bank was owned by the Go family, the founders of the Equitable Banking Corporation. In 1999, Equitable Banking Corporation merged with the Philippine Commercial and Industry Bank (PCIBank) of the Lopez family to form Equitable PCI Bank.

The following article, which appeared in the August 6, 2005 issue of The Philippine Star Reports, on purchase of the Go family's stake for about 11 billion pesos: