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THE
merger between Philippine National Bank (PNB) and Allied
Banking Corp.—both controlled by tycoon Lucio Tan—may
take longer than the estimated one-year integration, but
may cost less than the estimated P1.2 billion to P1.3
billion allotted for the union, Allied Bank president
Reynaldo Maclang said over the weekend.
In an interview late Friday at the
sidelines of the launching of the new Mabuhay Miles
World Mastercard, Maclang said the union faces the
challenge of the integration of two banking systems.
The complete integration will take place
in one to two years, Maclang said, and noted that the
system integration will be difficult.
“We use different software,” he said.
He added that Allied Bank will likely
use PNB’s more advanced system, and that it will take
time before the migration of the entire Allied Bank data
is complete.
He said the merger expenses will
“probably be less” than the projected P1.2 billion to
P1.3 billion.
As far as the branch network and
personnel are concerned, Maclang said they do not plan
to lose existing branches, but a number of branches may
have to relocate.
On the issue of employees, he said the
bank’s first priority is to let go of those employees
who are of retirement age, and then retrench those who
are least performing.
He said the merger will not encourage
early retirement because the bank will be needing
experienced officers once the merger is complete.
“The plan is not to lose [branches], but
we may have to relocate. [As far as the work force is
concerned], the first priority is to let those who are
naturally retirable go and then fire the least
qualified.”
It would be difficult to let go of those
in higher positions because of their knowledge and
experience, he added.
Maclang said he will retire once the
merger gets approval from regulators in September. “I
will retire once the merger is approved,” he said.
He also said the merged bank will keep
its life-insurance arm PNB Life Insurance and will have
no change in their insurance policy.
The merger, which was approved by the
banks shareholders on June 24, is targeting a net income
of P3.5 billion this year and P4 billion next year.
“We will look at the growth areas. Right
now, in the banking sector, consumer loans are growing.
We may look at the corporates. PNB has a strong
franchise on the government side, we will continue with
that,” Maclang said.
Allied Bank, for its part, has a strong
presence in the Filipino-Chinese business community.
Allied Bank on Friday launched its new
Mabuhay Miles World Mastercard, a credit card designed
for frequent travelers in what another bank official
described as a tie-up with Philippine Airlines, another
company controlled by the Tan group, and Mastercard.
The card is expected to boost the bank’s
consumer loan base by tapping into the travel market.
“There is a very high consumer spending
among travelers. And it’s the very nature of the Lucio
Tan companies. Since Allied Bank is one of the companies
in the Lucio Tan group and PAL is one of them, we might
as well tie up with them,” said Allied Bank first vice
president and Card Center head Fulgencio Rana in a
interview during the card launch.
He said Allied Bank is targeting to
distribute 60,000 to 70,000 cards this year.
“We launched the core cards as early as
October last year. At that time, we projected 30,000
card. By the end of the year, we are targeting 60,000 to
70,000 cards,” he said.
The card boasts of the lowest frequent
flyer point to mile conversion of only P38. |
