Landbank acquisition of Postal bank just awaiting Duterte’s approval

The body overseeing state-run corporations has endorsed for President Duterte’s approval Land Bank of the Philippines’ acquisition of Philippine Postal Savings Bank (Postbank).

Landbank president Alex V. Buenaventura told the Inquirer yesterday that the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GCG) last Tuesday approved the purchase agreement between the state-run lender and Postbank.

“The GCG recommended the issuance of an executive order by President Duterte on the 100-percent transfer of shares of Philippine Postal Corp. and the Bureau of the Treasury to Landbank,” said Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, an ex-officio member of the GCG.

The GCG also approved the conversion of Postbank to Overseas Filipino Bank after obtaining the approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Diokno added.

Last week, Buenaventura said Landbank was aiming for a 25-percent share of the remittance business by 2022 as it planned to open the first so-called Overseas Filipino Bank in Dubai next year.

Once the acquisition is approved by President Duterte, Landbank will infuse P1 billion in fresh capitalization to Postbank and convert it to the Overseas Filipino Bank, he said.

The former Postbank will just be a remittance marketing subsidiary of Landbank to service overseas Filipinos, he said.

Overseas Filipino Bank will sell Landbank’s remittance products to OFWs and tap the latter’s existing remittance system, according to Buenaventura.

By January next year, the first Overseas Filipino Bank will be piloted in Dubai, to be housed in the consular office there. —BEN O. DE VERA