MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the merger of the Land Bank of the Philippines Leasing and Finance Corporation (LLFC) and United Coconut Planters Bank Leasing and Finance Corporation (ULFC), Malacañang said Friday.

The President, through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, signed Executive Order (EO) 65 on August 6, approving the merger with the LLFC as the surviving entity.

The LLFC and ULFC, both attached to the Department of Finance, are finance and leasing corporations extending credit to businesses for the acquisition of equipment and other assets.

According to the EO, the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), LLFC and ULFC were ordered to ensure that the merger will comply with Republic Act (RA) 11232 or the "Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines" and RA 10667 or the "Philippine Competition Act."

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

The unification is pursuant to Section 5(a) of RA 10149 or the "GOCC Governance Act of 2011," whereas, "the GCG en banc finds the merger of LLFC and ULFC to be in the best interest of the State, to eliminate unnecessary overlap in the mandates and functions of LLFC and ULFC."