BPI to review capital structure for Basel 3

BANK of the Philippine Islands will review its capital structure next year to prepare for stringent capital adequacy ratio requirements under Basel 3.

If BPI were to run the regular way, the bank wouldn’t need any fresh capital until 2015 or 2016, BPI president Aurelio Montinola III told reporters on Friday.

Montinola said the bank would have to review its capitalization, in accordance with rules, by the first quarter of next year in preparation for the full implementation of Basel 3 by 2014.

“We have the whole of next year to figure it out. If market conditions continue to be good, then we will decide what we’ll do. That’s part of the agenda next year,” he said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will implement Basel 3 in 2014 not in 2013, like Singapore, he said.

But the Philippines is doing it in full right away, he added.

BPI is currently in the thick of discussions with the Lucio Tan group to take over a controlling stake in Philippine National Bank. The market expects BPI to use its own shares as currency to fund the acquisition.  Doris C. Dumlao