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DBP insists merger with LANDBANK needs legislation

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ABS-CBN News

<h3>State-owned bank hits GOCC body’s statement saying merger does not need new law</h3><p>MANILA - The Development Bank of the Philippines on Wednesday insisted that its proposed merger with Land Bank of the Philippines needs to be legislated. </p><p>DBP rejected the statement by the GCG or Governance Commission on Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) that the merger of the two state-owned banks does not require legislative intervention. </p><p>“DBP stands firm on its position that unification of the two financial institutions requires Congressional action,” the bank said in a statement.</p><p>Several media outlets earlier reported that the GCG had informed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr of its legal opinion on the planned merger.</p><p>But DBP said it has already filed an appeal with the Office of the President questioning GCG’s legal study, which the bank said was “legally erroneous.”</p><p>DBP also questioned the Department of Finance’s reasons for backing the merger, which includes the “elimination of perceived redundancy and inefficiencies in the two banks.”</p><p>LANDBANK’s mandate is different from DBP’s, the company said. </p><p>“DBP is to develop industry; LANDBANK, agriculture,” DBP added. </p><p>“We will explore all options and available remedies to strongly articulate our position that the merger is unwarranted and ill-timed given the existing socio-economic milieu that necessitates a responsive and progressive development financing institution such as DBP,” the state-owned lender said. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/03/28/23/diokno-says-marcos-backs-landbank-dbp-merger">Diokno says Marcos backs Landbank-DBP merger</a></li></ul><p>Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier said merging the 2 financial institutions will create a bank that&#x27;s bigger than BDO Unibank in terms of assets.</p><p>The government also stands to save about P5.3 billion per year in the next 4 years from the merger, Diokno said. </p><p>However, Diokno also admitted that only 22 of DBP’s 147 branches will be retained in the merger, leading to the retrenchment of many workers.</p><p>Last year, LANDBANK completed its acquisition of United Coconut Planters Bank.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2522271" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

DBP rejected the statement by the GCG or Governance Commission on Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) that the merger of the two state-owned banks does not require legislative intervention. 