BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

HISTORY BDO Unibank, Inc. had its humble beginnings on January 2, 1968, when it started off as a thrift bank  called Acme Savings Bank. With two branches in Metro Manila, Acme was one of the smallest banks in  the Philippines at the time. 

In November 1976, Acme was acquired by the Sy Group, the group of companies currently owned by  retail magnate Henry Sy, and renamed Banco de Oro Savings and Mortgage Bank. 

In December 1994, BDO became a commercial bank. To reflect the bank's new status, BDO was renamed  Banco de Oro Commercial Bank, and in September 1996, BDO became a universal bank, which led to the  bank's name being changed to the current Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO Unibank, Inc.). It is one of  the many banks owned by a Chinese-Filipino in the Philippines (others include Metrobank and  Chinabank).

 BDO Unibank, Inc. eventually became involved in insurance services in 1997 (it is a bancassurance firm)  by establishing a subsidiary called BDO Insurance Brokers. In 1999, BDO Unibank, Inc. expanded its  insurance services through partnerships with Zamora Assurance and Assicurazoni Generali s.p.a., one of  the world's largest insurance firms, and Jerneh Asia Berhad, a member of Malaysia's Kuok Group. Later,  BDO Unibank, Inc. partnered up with its insurance affiliates, which are Generali Pilipinas Life Assurance  Company and Generali Pilipinas Insurance Company, in March 2000.