Philippine President supports the merger of two state-run lenders

The merger of the two banks would make it the largest Philippine bank in terms of assets.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. pushes for the amalgamation of the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

“By merging the two, it will now become the number one bank in the Philippines,” Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said.

If materialised, the consolidated bank would be the largest bank in the Philippines, said the Department of Finance.

It would generate a calculated asset size of about PHP4.18t (US$ 76.80t) and a deposit base averaging PHP3.59t (US$ 66.00t).

President Marcos desired the merger to realise due to the recent international financial developments. The Philippine government also said it targets to have the merger effective before the end of 2023.

The finance department assured that both banks will continue all existing services post-merger.

(PHP1 = US$0.018)