Government to nominate five PNB directors

The government will nominate five persons into the board of Philippine National Bank (PNB) including former Supreme Court Justice Andres Narvasa, former Labor Secretary Nieves Confesor, and Cielo Macapagal, half-sister of vice president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Finance Secretary Jose Pardo said over the weekend.

It would also nominate former central bank deputy governor and current PNB president Feliciano Miranda and a lawyer, who is a close friend of Pardo, into the board. Pardo said the lawyer, whom he refused to identify, would be part of the government's "tactical move" in managing the bank.

The government still owns 30 percent of PNB. The other owners namely Lucio Tan, with 46 percent, and Templeton Asset Management, with 12.9 percent, have their respective nominees in the board.

Tan, he said has five including himself, his brother Mariano Tan, Macario Te, and Enrique Filamor.

The Hong Kong-based global fund manager Templeton has nominated businessman Roberto Romulo. Also, Washington Sycip has been nominated as another private sector representative into the board. A new set of board of directors would be selected when PNB holds a stockholders' meeting on May 30.

"It's good to have these people there," Pardo said.

The stockholders meeting will produced despite the scheduled privatization of the bank on June 9. The government, Tan and PNB Pension Fund will be selling their combined 80-percent stake in the bank through a bidding. So far, three firms have been pre-qualified to join the bidding.

The three were Rizal Commercial Bank, a group of American investors led by Filipino billionaire Loida Nicolas Lewis, and the Le Bong Tanduy, an Indonesian firm with tie up with a US financial institution.

Pardo said he would meet the group of Lewis today (Monday). He said the businesswoman, one of the richest in the US, would also pay a courtesy call to the President in Malacañang.

The sale of the government's remaining stake in PNB is part of its commitment to the International Monetary fund a three-year program. It is also a measure committed to the World Bank under the banking sector reform loan. --