Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has officially approved the proposed merger of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Robinsons Bank, a commercial bank owned by local conglomerate JG Summit Holdings. Through the proposed merger, BPI will be the existing entity.
According to recent stock filings made by BPI, JG Summit Holdings, and Robinsons Retail Holdings, all received approval from the PCC from September 13 to 14.
Following this, the companies are now seeking approval from the central bank Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), as well as from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). With this, no fixed time frame for the acquisition has been announced, as it is still subject to regulatory approval.
Discussion about the proposed merger first began in September 2022 when the board of directors of the three companies involved approved the proposed merger, with grants Robinsons Bank shareholders collectively holding approximately 6% of the resulting outstanding capital stock of BPI should the merger go through.
The announcement adds to a series of proposed and completed bank mergers in the country, including the acquisition of Citi’s local consumer banking business by UnionBank, as well as the proposed merger of the country’s two state banks–LandBank and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
