PNB to maintain 39% stake in Maybank

The Philippine National Bank (PNB) will keep its 39-percent stake in Maybank Philippines Inc., its commercial bank subsidiary in partnership with Maybank Berhad of Malaysia.

PNB president Feliciano Miranda Jr. told The STAR that they intend to keep Maybank as a subsidiary because they use this as a channel to reach out to overseas Filipino workers in Malaysia.

"We have commitment to Maybank. We feel that we have to get some partnership with Malaysia for remittance purposes," he said.

At present, PNB is still one of the top local banks that provide remittance services to Filipinos working abroad. "It might be useful for us to retain it," he said.

However, Miranda admitted their share in Maybank was diluted when it failed to infuse additional capital when the commercial bank called for fresh cash infusion recently.

"Maybank of Malaysia has increased its percentage of ownership in the bank when we did not infuse additional capital," Miranda said.

The last time that PNB complied to the recent capital call of Maybank was in 1998 when it put in additional equity amounting to P218.6 million.

With the passage of the amendments to the General Banking Act (GBA), foreign banks can now own 100 percent of a local bank regardless of its financial condition.

But Miranda admitted that there is a possibility that the Malaysian group might buy them out of this will be allowed by the new GBA.

In 1994, Maybank of Malaysia bought to a 60-percent stake in PNB-Republic bank (now Maybank Phils.)

Under the sale agreement, maybank and PNB should enter into a memorandum of agreement to provide for the settlement of Maybank's P3 billion liabilities to the BSP up to June 013.

The MOA also put PNB jointly and severally liable with Maybank for the full compliance and satisfaction of the items and conditions of the settlement.

Based on the MOA, an escrow fund was created which will be administered by the BSP where all collections from conveyed assets and certain annual guaranteed payments required under the agreement are to be deposited.

In 1997, PNB remitted about P150 million to the escrow fund in compliance with the MOA. The bank anticipates that this payment will allow the escrow account to reach the required P3 billion earlier than June 30, 2013 which will result in the release of the bank from making further payments under the MOA.

Since the government and Lucio Tan are selling heir combined 76 percent stake in PNB through a public bidding on June 9, the present management is still uncertain now hat to do with its subsidiaries.

"The direction of PNB in terms of disposing its assets will be up to the new owners of winning bidder of the PNB," a bank official said.

The official said a rehabilitation program awaits the bank once the ownership issue is resolved this month.

The rehabilitation plan, the official, said might carry on action program for PNB subsidiaries.