The Banco de Oro-Equitable PCI Bank (2004–2006) was a plan by the SM Group of Companies and Banco de Oro Universal Bank, then the fifth-largest bank in the Philippines, to merge with Equitable PCI Bank, the third-largest bank. The merger was part of a long-term goal of Banco de Oro to become one of the largest names in the Philippine banking industry. It was closed on December 27, 2006, with the formation of Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc. The plan was controversial in terms that a smaller bank could not possibly acquire a bank much larger than it is. At the time of the merger, Equitable PCI had three times the capital Banco de Oro had. Analysts were worried about the repercussions this could have on the industry. However, the deal had been able to generate a lot of media hype, especially in newspaper editorials. Background The merger with or acquisition of Equitable PCI is one of the acquisitions that Banco de Oro has been involved with over the last five years. In 2001, it successfully acquired the Philippine subsidiary of Dao Heng Bank, adding on some twelve branches to its branch network. The next year, it acquired the branches of First e-Bank, then-owned by First Pacific, the majority shareholder in PLDT. A year later, it acquired the Philippine subsidiary of Banco Santander Central Hispano. Later on, in April 2005, BDO acquired 66 of the 67 branches of the Philippine subsidiary of United Overseas Bank, after UOB announced the conversion of its operations from retail banking to wholesale banking. The deal was closed on December 20, 2005. BDO's wave of acquisitions has earned it the distinction of being the most aggressive bank in terms of mergers and acquisitions. However, this title belonged to Equitable PCI Bank in the 1990s, when its predecessor, Equitable Banking Corporation, went on to buy banks such as Mindanao Development Bank and Ecology Bank in the mid-1990s and PCI Bank in the 1980s when it acquired the Insular Bank of Asia and America. In 1999, Equitable completed arguably one of the largest bank mergers in Philippine banking history(with help from the GSIS and the SSS along with former President Estrada): the merger with the larger Philippine Commercial International Bank, or PCI Bank. this deal catapulted EPCI to the number two spot then a few months later BPI merged with PCIBank's sister bank FEBTC under the BPI