THE Department of Finance is exploring the possibility of charter amendments for two state-run banks that the government earlier wanted to merge.

"We are exploring the amendments to the charters of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DPB), including their possible public listing, to broaden the local capital market," Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.

In a text message, Recto said a draft bill would soon be released but declined to provide more details.

The Finance chief last week said that the proposed merger, opposed by the DBP and where LandBank, as LBP is more commonly known, would have been the surviving entity, was no longer being considered.

He said their mandates were completely different and that remaining separate would allow for better delivery of services.

Recto's predecessor, former Finance secretary Benjamin Diokno, had pushed the merger, which would have resulted in the creation of the largest bank in the Philippines in terms of assets.

It was originally expected to have been implemented last year, and Diokno had claimed that it would lead to nearly P1 billion in savings for the government via the consolidation of branch operations and lower personnel costs.

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