Diokno: Marcos backs Landbank-DBP merger

FinanceSecretary Benjamin Diokno on Tuesday said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. supports the proposed merger of state-run banks Landbank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines.

The matter was discussed during a sectoral meeting held on Tuesday, Diokno said in a briefing.

Merging the 2 financial institutions will create a bank that’s bigger than BDO Unibank in terms of assets, the Finance chief said.

BDO is currently the country’s largest bank in terms of assets as of September 2022, followed by the Landbank of the Philippines. DBP is at the 8th spot.

“By merging the 2, it will now become the number 1 bank in the Philippines... That’s really the best practice, the biggest bank is owned by the state, globally,” Diokno said.

“The President expressed the desire to merge the 2 to make it the biggest bank in the country because of the recent financial developments abroad,” he added.

The merger will result in savings for the government of about P5.3 billion per year in the next 4 years. Loans from the surviving entity may also be lower than the current rates, he said.

“As a result of the merger, there will be savings, the merged bank will be stronger. One likely outcome of this is maybe interest rate charged will be lower,” Diokno said.

To date, Landbank has 752 branches while DBP has 147.

MPIC to invest P2B in SP New Energy

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is set to invest an initial P2 billion in SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC), seeking to capitalize on the government’s shift to boost the share of renewable energy in the total mix by 2030.

In a filing to the local bourse, MPIC said it will acquire 1.6 billion common shares of SPNEC from Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. (SPH) at P1.25 per share, priced at a discount to the 52-week volume-weighted average price (VWAP).

The agreement, the first of several, was signed by SPH chief executive officer and president Leandro Leviste and MPIC chairman and president Manuel Pangilinan who will take over as SPNEC board chairman upon closing.

“Our thrust of pursuing renewable energy brings the MVP Group one step closer to fulfilling our mission of creating long-term value for our stakeholders through responsible and sustainable investments,” Pangilinan said.

Further agreements would provide for MPIC to acquire up to a total of 19 billion common