PNB joins list of UCPB bidders

MANILA, Philippines - The banking arm of the country’s second richest man Lucio Tan is keen on bidding for state-owned United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB), an acquisition target that already drew the interest of the Sy, Gotianun and Aboitiz groups.

Acquiring the soon-to-be-privatized UCPB and several thrift banks will allow Philippine National Bank (PNB) to fasttrack its expansion, the lender’s top official said yesterday.

“Our board (of directors) has given us the direction to look into UCPB,” said PNB president and CEO Reynaldo Maclang.

“If it will be a positive addition to the bank, then we will go for it,” he said following the annual stockholders’ meeting of parent firm LT Group Inc.

In April, the Sy-controlled BDO Unibank Inc., the Philippines’ largest lender in terms of assets, the Aboitiz Group’s Union Bank of the Philippines, and the Gotianun family’s East West Banking Corp. have expressed interest in acquiring UCPB.

Maclang said PNB, the country’s fourth largest private bank in terms of total assets, total deposits and total loans has pored over UCPB’s previous financial data.

Aside from UCPB, Maclang said PNB is also looking for a negotiated purchase of two Metro Manila-based thrift banks.

“(Acquiring) is a faster way of growing the bank,” he said, adding that PNB is continuously beefing up its network through organic expansion.

Last year’s merger of PNB and Allied Banking Corp. created the fourth largest private bank. It also increased the lender’s number of domestic branches to 656 by end-2013 from 339 in 2012, and its ATM network grew to 859 from 480.

“PNB continues to corner the largest share of the remittance business with over a 20-percent stake,” said LT Group president Michael Tan.

In February, PNB raised P11.6 billion from a stock rights offering to recapitalize PNB Savings Bank, which will be used to grow the bank’s consumer loan business.

For its asset disposal program, Maclang said PNB will group small properties located in Davao City and Metro Manila. To date, PNB has an inventory of 5,000 titles.

In the first quarter, PNB’s earnings sank 53 percent to P1.3 billion amid the absence of substantial gains in trading and investment securities.

Net interest income, which accounted for 68 percent of the its total operating income, however, rose 70 percent to P4.5 billion due to a 31-percent increase in interest income coupled with a 38-percent decline in interest expense.