Duterte to launch OFW bank on Thursday

President Duterte will launch on Thursday a bank that will cater to the financial needs of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families.

The Overseas Filipino Bank will be launched at the Postbank Center in Manila.

“We would like to inform our kababayans abroad that the Overseas Filipino Bank is set to open on Jan. 18,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said yesterday.

“We recognize the contribution of overseas Filipinos to the country’s economic growth that we are enjoying. And related to this, we acknowledge their financial needs. We aim to provide financial and remittance services tailored to the needs of our countrymen,” he said.

Money sent home by Filipinos living and working abroad has been keeping the economy afloat as it boosts domestic consumption.

Overseas remittances hit $23.06 billion from January to October last year, according to latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Roque said the establishment of the Overseas Filipino Bank was a commitment made by Duterte to members of Filipino communities every time he would meet them in his foreign trips.

“Let us encourage our families, relatives and acquaintances to open a new account in the Overseas Filipino Bank,” he said.

Last September, Duterte issued Executive Order No. 44 approving the acquisition of the Philippine Postal Savings Bank (PPSB) by the Land Bank of the Philippines.

The acquisition allowed the Land Bank to convert the PPSB to an Overseas Filipino Bank.

The Land Bank was directed to acquire the PPSB through transfer of shares and its subsequent conversion into an Overseas Filipino Bank, subject to the approval or clearance of the BSP, Securities and Exchange Commission, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Philippine Competition Commission.

The Philippine Postal Corp., the mother company of the PPSB, and Bureau of the Treasury were instructed to transfer all their shares in PPSB to Land Bank at zero value.

The PPSB was ordered to expedite the transfer of all assets, liabilities, records, systems and other related items to Land Bank.

Duterte also ordered the Land Bank to infuse capital into the Overseas Filipino Bank. –