(), more commonly known as '''iBank''', is one of the largest
Bank s in the
Philippines , ranking within the top twenty in terms of assets. It was recently acquired by the larger
Union Bank Of The Philippines in mid-2006, although the two banks presently remain separate. Integration of the iBank brand into the UnionBank brand is currently ongoing.
iBank was founded as a
Commercial Bank on
August 17 ,
1995 , starting operations on September 25 of that year. It grew rapidly largely due to its consumer-oriented services which proved to be popular at the time. It was one of the many banks formed during the 1990s, when the administration of
Fidel V. Ramos and
Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas governor
Gabriel Singson encouraged the formation of more banks, a policy since reversed today.
On
September 22 ,
2003 , iBank joined
MegaLink and unveiled its iDeal ATM card. At the time of its launch, the iDeal card was revolutionary in the sense that it was the first ATM card to come with value-added benefits, such as shopping discounts.
The bank listed on the
Philippine Stock Exchange on
December 6 ,
2004 , under the
Ticker Symbol IBNK.
iBank was acquired by Union Bank of the Philippines on
June 5 ,
2006 that saw 98.86% of all iBank shares being sold in a block sale. Although UnionBank has plans to merge the two banks, catapulting UnionBank to become the seventh-largest bank in the Philippines in terms of assets, the two banks presently remain separate.
