DBP plans to sell Al Amanah Bank

MANILA, Philippines — The government is preparing to divest itself of the Al Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines, a subsidiary of the state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines, possibly bringing in a new group to run the country’s first and only Islamic bank.

Following an instruction from the Department of Finance last year for the DBP to unload its 99.88 percent stake in Al Amanah, DBP is now in the process of “preparing the package for divestment,” said Al Amanah senior vice president Idiosa Ursolino.

In a briefing on Islamic finance conducted by the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, Ursolino said the DBP’s divestment would have to be approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and-Controlled Corporations (GCG) and, ultimately, the Office of the President.

“Until now, we haven’t gathered those approvals but we’re in the process,” she said.

At present, she said Al Amanah is operational and doing business as usual “but on a limited scale because of the limited capitalization.”