MANILA, Philippines – The Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is set to merge with the Gokongwei-led Robinsons Bank Corporation (RBC), the companies announced on Friday, September 30.

The companies noted that BPI would emerge as the surviving entity before the end of 2023.

The deal involves RBC shareholders holding approximately 6% of the resulting outstanding capital stock of BPI after the merger.

On the same day of the announcement, BPI’s board approved the increase of authorized capital stock of P4 billion to P54.6 billion. It would then be divided to 5.4 million common stocks and 60 million preferred stocks with par value of P10 per share.

JG Summit president and chief executive officer (CEO) Lance Gokongwei said that the merger was born out of a review of its strategic options, adding that “banking is a scale game and will continue to require additional capital for growth.”

“We believe that merging Robinsons Bank with BPI, which is one of the strongest and most profitable banks in the country, is the best path forward. This will give our customers access to a fuller range of banking products and services as the combined organization will leverage on ecosystems of both the Gokongwei and Ayala Groups,” Gokongwei said.

The unlisted Gokongwei-led bank has total assets amounting to P175.9 billion and loans and receivables of P102.4 billion. The bank’s total liabilities stood at P156 billion, while deposits reached P139 billion.

RBC has 189 branches and 354 ATMs.

Meanwhile, the much larger BPI has total assets of P2.5 trillion. BPI’s deposits stood at P2 trillion, while total loans reached P1.6 trillion.

“We are excited about this transaction and believe that this merger exemplifies BPI’s strategic effort to expand its client base, accelerate growth, and ultimately increase shareholder value through partnerships with the Gokongwei Group,” said BPI CEO TG Limcaoco. – Rappler.com