PDIC approves merger of Allied, PNB

Taipan Lucio Tan has obtained approval from state-controlled Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) to merge banking arms Philippine National Bank and Allied Banking Corp.

The merger is seen creating the country’s fourth-largest private bank.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, PNB said it had received notice from the PDIC approving the merger, subject to certain conditions, details of which were not disclosed.

“We really have a standard set of conditions contained in our consent to mergers. It would be best for us to leave to the merging entities to disclose,” PDIC president Valentin Araneta said in a text message.

“Two things that would be standard requirements for a bank merger are Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Securities and Exchange Commission approvals,” Araneta added.

Shareholders of both PNB and Allied Bank approved last March the revised terms of the merger via a share-for-share swap transaction, a union where PNB will be the surviving entity.

Allied Bank president Anthony Chua, who heads the integration of the two banks, said last March that full integration would likely happen in 18 months.

The combined entity will have a distribution network of 646 branches nationwide and total assets of P514 billion, the fifth-largest among local banks (including Land Bank) and the fourth among privately owned lenders. It will also have the largest international footprint across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Middle East and North America. PNB also aims to regain leadership in the remittance business.—Doris C. Dumlao