PCC clears Landbank buyout of Postal Bank

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has given the go-signal to the transfer of state-run Philippine Postal Savings Bank’s assets to the Land Bank of the Philippines, a development toward establishing the Overseas Filipino Bank promised by President Duterte.

“The PCC has approved the acquisition Thursday,” PCC chair Arsenio Balisacan said in a mobile phone message.

Last month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) also gave Landbank the green light to acquire Philippine Postal Savings Bank.

According to the BSP, the Overseas Filipino Bank is expected to open early this year, likely by next month.

A bank dedicated to the needs of the overseas Filipino workers is one of the promises of President Duterte during his campaign.

Under the Philippine Competition Act, PCC, the country’s anti-trust body, is mandated to review mergers and acquisitions that meet the P1-billion threshold to ensure that these deals will not harm the interest of consumers.

The PCC to date has received over 140 merger filings by local and international companies, worth a combined P2.171 trillion.