President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the merger of the leasing and financing divisions of the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank).

Based on Executive Order (EO) 65 released on Friday, the Land Bank of the Philippines Leasing and Finance Corporation (LLFC) will continue as the sole entity after merging with the United Coconut Planters Bank Leasing and Finance Corporation (ULFC).

Through the EO signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), LLFC and ULFC have been directed to ensure that the merger adheres to Republic Act (RA) 11232, also known as the “Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines,” and RA 10667, the “Philippine Competition Act.”

The merger will also involve the transfer of all assets and liabilities of United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) to the Land Bank of the Philippines, including its ownership stakes in ULFC.

ULFC was formerly a subsidiary of LandBank following the 2021 merger of the two state banks, which included the transfer of UCPB’s ownership shares in ULFC to LandBank.

The new merger will shift all of ULFC’s assets and liabilities to LLFC.

The Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) stated that ULFC was “no longer meeting its expected objectives and purpose as a government-owned and controlled corporation.”

In light of this, the GCG determined that merging LLFC and ULFC would be “in the best interest of the State, to eliminate unnecessary overlap in their mandates and functions.”

The merger was also recommended by the Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, LandBank, the Commission on Audit, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.