Allied Bank OKs date of merger with PNB

Allied Banking Corp. (ABC) on Wednesday approved the merger date set by the Philippine National Bank (PNB) following a meeting by its board of directors. "We are pleased to inform that in a meeting held today, Jan. 23, the board of directors of Allied Banking Corp. approved the setting of Feb. 9, 2013 as the effective date of the merger with Philippine National Bank," ABC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange. This occurred a day after the PNB disclosed to the exchange the approval of its board of the February 9, 2013 merger date. The schedule of the effectivity of the merger was "in accordance with Article 1.2 of the Amended Plan of Merger, subject to the approval of the same by the board of ABC," said PNB corporate secretary Doris Te said on Tuesday. The two Lucio Tan-controlled banks had already obtained all the necessary approvals for the merger. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the merger last Friday as well as the corresponding amendment of the banks’ articles of incorporation to pave the way for the consolidation. The SEC also approved the reclassification of PNB’s authorized preferred shares into common shares and increased the number of directors from 11 to 15. Following the merger, PNB, which will emerge as the surviving entity, is expected to become the fourth-largest bank with total assets of over P500 billion. The bank had P320 billion in assets as of end-September last year while Allied Bank had P189 billion. — KBK, GMA News