Sale of Asiatrust assets OK’d

Shareholders of thrift bank Asiatrust Development Bank approved on Wednesday the sale of its banking operations to Asia United Bank and the transformation of the remaining company into a holding firm.

In a statement, Asiatrust said its shareholders had approved and ratified the agreement with AUB, which will acquire the former’s banking assets and liabilities, excluding the trust business.

Asiatrust said it would now work closely with AUB to obtain final regulatory approvals so they could complete the transaction within the first half of 2012.

The 28 branches of Asiatrust, most of which are in Metro Manila, will become AUB branches upon completion of the deal.

“AUB is a strong bank that has always emphasized customer service, even as it has accelerated its expansion in the past few years. We are confident AUB will be able to match the high quality of service we have delivered to our customers,” Asiatrust president and chief executive officer Dionisio Ong said.

In the same special stockholders’ meeting, Asiatrust approved the change in its corporate name to “NextGenesis Holdings Corp.”

Banking sources privy to the deal said this was structured in a way that AUB would be buying the assets rather than shares. This will ensure that Asiatrust’s shareholders would still “be left with something” after AUB’s takeover.