Landbank pays cash dividends to UCPB minority shareholders

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Land Bank of the Philippines will pay out cash dividends to the minority shareholders of the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) after cancelling their subscription in the bank as a result of the two banks’ merger.

In an advisory, Landbank said all issued and outstanding shares of UCPB, including the unpaid portion of existing subscriptions, were terminated by their merger that took effect on March 1.

As a result, Landbank said minority shareholders of the UCPB may claim cash dividends worth P0.337 per share from the state-owned bank.

Landbank said minority shareholders of the UCPB should transact with Landbank’s Investment Banking Group to facilitate the release of their cash payouts. However, the bank said it would only process requests from individuals listed in the 2021 general information sheet of the UCPB.

Also, Landbank said provisions under the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act should be complied with in the issuance of the cash dividends. Some of the controversial coconut levy assets were identified as shares of stock in the UCPB, as determined by the government.

The late dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed a coconut levy on coconut farmers in the 1970s on the promise that proceeds from the collection would be used to develop their industry.

As none of the returns ever materialized, President Duterte last year signed a law that seeks to retrieve the coconut levy assets, including shares of stocks in the UCPB, to fund programs and projects improving the state of coconut farmers.

On the other hand, Landbank in March completed its acquisition of the UCPB, as approved by the President, in a merger seen to expand financial services for agricultural workers.

Landbank more than doubled its profit to P13.2 billion in the first quarter from P5.48 billion a year ago, attributed to increased income from loans and investments. Landbank also booked a one time gain from its merger with the UCPB.

The jump in Landbank’s net income translated to a return on equity (ROE) of 14.27 percent. As such, its ROE stood well above the industry average of 9.08 percent as of 2021.

Assets managed by Landbank widened by 16 percent to P2.79 trillion in the first quarter due to the P291.83 billion in additional assets brought in by the UCPB.

With the merger, Landbank firmed up its position as the second largest bank in the Philippines in terms of assets, only behind the Sy-owned BDO Unibank Inc.