PNB sells P1-B idle assets

THE LUCIO TAN group’s banking arm Philippine National Bank (PNB) has unloaded P1 billion worth of Heritage Park memorial lot inventory in favor of the STI Group’s preneed affiliate PhilPlans First Inc.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) last Friday, PNB said its board of directors approved the sale of the bank’s Heritage Park inventory covered by 3,827 Heritage Park Investment Certificates (HPICs) to PhilPlans through its designated trustee, Union Bank Trust.

PNB is continuing to unload noncore assets, having committed to sell P18 billion worth of real and other properties acquired over a two-year period, according to Michael Tan, president of PNB’s parent firm LT Group Inc. Tan said the inventory of idle assets had already gone down from a high of P25 billion.

Heritage Park, which was developed by the state-controlled Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), is a 76-hectare memorial park equipped with modern interment services, crematory and other facilities. The park opened in 2001. It is located along Bayani Road in Fort Bonifacio bordered by the C-5 Road in Taguig City. It is also between the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Libingan ng mga Bayani and the American Memorial and Cemetery.

The buyer, PhilPlans, is a leading financial solutions company in the country that provides innovative pension, education and memorial programs. This pre-need firm is controlled by Philippines First Insurance Co. Inc. (PhilFirst Insurance) and Systems Technology Institute (STI), which took over ownership of PhilPlans from Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) in 2009.

For its part, PNB—once the country’s biggest bank in terms of assets—is targeting to become among the country’s top three banks again.