PNB’s Maclang to retire

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter

PHILIPPINE National Bank (PNB) President Reynaldo A. Maclang will retire from his post mid-November, to be replaced by a bank executive from a global bank.
In a disclosure on Friday, the listed lender announced that its board of directors, in a meeting on Friday, approved the retirement of Mr. Maclang as bank president, chief executive officer (CEO) and director effective Nov. 15. However, he will continue to serve as board advisor.
“The Board also approved a resolution to express its sincerest gratitude to Mr. Maclang for his untiring service and valuable contribution to the bank,” the bank owned by tycoon Lucio C. Tan said.
In turn, PNB has also confirmed that Jose Arnulfo “Wick” A. Veloso will replace Mr. Maclang by Nov. 16, as approved by the bank’s board on the same meeting.
Mr. Veloso announced his resignation as president and CEO of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) Philippines last Monday. The London-based bank said it will announce who their next top official will be “in due course.”
Sources have flagged Mr. Veloso’s transfer to the global bank but PNB only made the announcement after the board gave its formal approval Friday morning.
Mr. Veloso has been HSBC’s bank president since December 2012 and was the first Filipino to be take the post. He is also vice chair of the Open Market Committee of the Bankers Association of the Philippines.
FUNDRAISING
In a related development, PNB will also issue up to P20 billion in peso-denominated bonds as part of efforts to raise fresh capital.
The country’s fifth-biggest lender said it will issue debt notes “in one or more tranches.”
PNB raised $300 million by floating medium-term notes to foreign investors back in April, marking its maiden drawdown from the bank’s $1-billion programme. The instruments are priced 4.25% with a tenor of five years and a day.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has simplified rules that allow banks to issue corporate bonds with greater ease, as it removed the need to secure “prior approval” from the central bank for lenders to tap the capital markets.
Currently, banks prefer issuing long-term negotiable certificates of deposit to raise additional funding. However, these entail bigger costs compared to soliciting actual investment pledges, as these are actually time deposits and come with a higher reserve requirement rate.
In contrast, bond offerings come with a lower 6% reserve standard.
The bank reported a P5.4 billion net income during the first semester, double the P2.7 billion booked during the same period in 2017. This was driven by a 27% increase in net interest income alongside a surge in service fees and commissions.
PNB shares closed at P47.25 each on Friday, up 70 centavos or 1.50% from the previous day.