Tan needs 40 SPAs for PNB rehab deal

Philippine National Bank majority owner Lucio Tan needs special powers of attorney from the more than 40 individuals and corporations associated with his block to sign the memorandum of agreement (MOA) that will financially rehabilitate the bank.

Under the MOA, the Tan block will bring down its 67-percent controlling share in PNB to 44.98 percent while government will increase its 16.5-percent stake to 44.98 percent.

Since some of the individuals and corporations in Tan’s block are based abroad, the execution of each special power of attorney must be accompanied by a consular certification.

A source closely involved in the forging of the MOA says Tan has not yet received all the special powers of attorney. "This is just a minor delay," the source said.

Members of the Tan block will also have to initial all the MOA documents.

At the earliest, the MOA will be signed on Feb. 8, the day after the return of Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho from the United States.

"Government is putting together an air-tight MOA. Everything will be put in writing so there are no legal questions later on," the source said.

For its part, government is awaiting two documents before signing the MOA. One is a document to be signed by President Arroyo giving Camacho the full power to sign the MOA on behalf of government. The other document is the go signal from the Department of Justice on the final MOA.

"What DOJ has received in the past were the draft of the terms of reference and the draft of the MOA. What it now has are the clean set of documents," the source said.

The signing of the MOA signals the start of financial rehabilitation of PNB, the country’s sixth largest bank.

The business plan, the other part of the rehabilitation program, will have to be approved by the incoming president and chief executive officer, who has yet to be chosen by Tan from a list put together by government.

On top of the headhunting is outgoing PNB chairman and current Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. president Norberto Nazareno, representing government, and PNB director Domingo Chua, representing the Tan block.