Government to ‘partially privatize’ OFW bank in the future

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Finance on Thursday said it is preparing a digital banking system for the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFB) to pave the way for the partial privatization of the institution soon.

In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said a digital banking system for the OFB could later lead to “less state interference” by reducing Land Bank of the Philippines’ control over the OFB in the future by more than 50 percent.

The OFB is a subsidiary of LandBank.

“We just need funds for all these, and we’re looking for assistance in this leapfrogging operation,” Dominguez said.

“This will allow us to partially privatize it in the future. Even bring down the share of LandBank to below 50 percent. These are things we’re looking at,” he added.

In September last year, President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. 44 directing the creation of a special bank for Filipino migrant workers.

In the EO, Duterte ordered LandBank to infuse capital to the OFW bank to provide the financial and banking needs of Filipinos abroad.

According to the finance chief, the government has asked the assistance of the International Finance Corp.—a sister organization of the World Bank—in establishing a digital banking system for the OFB.