The group of tycoon Lucio Tan is willing to cede up to 25 percent of Philippine National Bank to a strategic partner and has received “serious” interest from three foreign institutions for a prospective buy-in deal.
But while opening itself up to strategic partners, the bank is working on acquiring a financial institution “that can bring PNB to the next level,” PNB president Wick Veloso yesterday said in a briefing after the bank’s stockholders’ meeting.
“If you take a look at our competitors, it’s not just organic growth that will allow you to move to be able to compete in the top league. So our objective right now is to find financial institutions that PNB will be able to acquire,” Veloso said.
Once the country’s largest bank in terms of assets, PNB is presently the fifth largest bank in the Philippines with resources of about P910 billion as of end-2018.
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
BUSINESS
It is currently in talks for two such prospective acquisitions. “But we’re not yet in the kind of discussions that will allow us to say it’s serious talks,” he said.
To diversify its portfolio, PNB is looking into potential joint ventures with moneylending experts who serve the unbanked segment of the market.
