Amended charter of Veterans Bank allows post-WW II veterans to be shareholders

MANILA, Philippines — The new charter of the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) now allows post-World War II veterans, which include retirees from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to hold shares in the bank.

In a statement on Tuesday, PVB Vice President Mike Villa-Real said that the new charter would now allow the bank to increase its capitalization and include post-World War II veterans to be shareholders while maintaining priority for World War II veterans and their immediate heirs.

This was provided under Republic Act No. 11597, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Dec. 10, 2021, and is slated to take effect by Jan. 21 this year.

Among the major changes to the PVB charter include the increase of capitalization from P100 million to P10 billion, which will allow the bank to issue additional stocks, increase the number of members in the Board of Directors from 11 to 15, and move its head office to Makati, from its location in Manila.

Under the amended charter, the term “veterans” will now also include post-World War II veterans, thereby allowing AFP retirees to be shareholders.

The old PVB charter defined “veterans” as only those Filipinos who fought during World War II. As such, ownership of the bank was limited to the said Filipino veterans and their designated heirs.

The new charter also maintains PVB’s status as a government depository bank, allowing it to accept deposits from national government agencies, local government units, and government corporations.

By extension, this allows PVB to continue offering its products and services such as loans and cash management services to government clients.

In keeping with the original intent of the bank’s founders, Villa-Real said PVB would continue to allocate 20% of its annual net income for the benefit of Filipino veterans and their families.

This will be through programs and endeavors that will be beneficial to the well-being of the bank’s shareholders, he added.

Roberto de Ocampo, the PVB chairman and chief executive officer, said the new charter was an “enormous boon for the bank” as it would allow PVB to continue to be the “bank with the heart for every Filipino.”

“With the new charter in place, PVB can raise capital stock which in turn will allow us to grow our business, and the inclusion of post-World War II veterans as shareholders will only allow PVB to grow in strength and stability,” he said.

ATM