MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCOM) has signed a subscription agreement with Lucio L. Co’s P.G. Holdings, Inc., for the latter’s subscription of 181,080,608 of PBCOM common shares. This follows PBCOM’s earlier announcement that its Board of Directors has accepted Co’s offer to subscribe to newly issued common shares of the Bank.
The share subscription, which is subject to BSP approval, would increase the bank’s issued shares to 480,645,164 and give P.G. Holdings, Inc. a 37.7 percent stake in PBCOM.
PBCOM initiated capital-raising activities aimed at funding the bank’s expansion plans. In the past 18 months, PBCOM has made significant investments in growing its core banking business and expanding its branch network. The Bank has also invested heavily in people and IT infrastructure.
PBCOM president & CEO Nina D. Aguas said, “We view this as a strategic partnership, as there are many synergies between Mr. Co’s portfolio of businesses and PBCOM. Their retail network more than complements and multiplies our expansion efforts, and their focus on the small business segment is very much aligned with our thrust to grow SME Banking.”
PBCOM currently has 72 branches, having opened new locations in Baguio, Bonifacio Global City, Cabanatuan, Calamba, Cauayan Isabela, Cebu, Dumaguete and Sta. Rosa in the past 15 months.
On July 30, 2014, the bank received the BSP’s approval of its acquisition of the Rural Bank of Nagcarlan, Inc. (RBNI) which adds six rural bank branches to its national footprint. With the approval, the BSP likewise granted PBCOM additional PBCOM branch licenses, six additional RBNI branch licenses and three additional RBNI other banking office licenses.