PHILIPPINE Veterans Bank (PVB) has announced the coming opening of a branch in Sual, Pangasinan hopefully by next month. Bank officials said the opening date will depend on the approval of banking regulatory bodies.

The Sual branch will be the bank’s third in Pangasinan and the 45th in the country. PVB also has branches in Dagupan and Lingayen. Once established, the new branch will be the only commercial bank in Sual.

As a private bank, PVB offers financial services to individuals like ATM, passbook and checking accounts as well as housing & small business loans. For corporate accounts, it offers ATM payroll services, checkwriting & disbursement system, centralized deposit monitoring , conduit arrangements with other banks for collection and disbursement and an innovative three-in-one ATM-ID card combining the ATM payroll, Time card & ID card into one.

PVB Chairman Emmanuel V. de Ocampo & President Ricardo A. Balbido, Jr. reported that PVB had an audited net income of P353.29 million in 2005, a 48.7% jump for the 2004 figure of P237 million. The private bank’s total assets likewise increased by 25% to P21.39 billion from 2004’s P17.11 billion. The bank’s capital was at P3.8 billion also up from P3.59 billion in 2004.

Over 300,000 World War II veterans & their compulsory heirs all over the country are the registered owners of the bank.

A private commercial bank, Philippine Veterans Bank sets aside 20% of its net income each year for programs that support the welfare of the aging WWII veterans, widows and heirs. Through the Board of Trustees for the Veterans of World War II (BTVWWII), PVB’s contribution aids the VFP Out-patient Center, a modern clinic that provides free medicine, medical & dental services for WWII veterans; and the VFP Museum, Archives & Library. – (Mike Villa-Real )