MANILA, Philippines — Bank of the Philippine Islands is set to merge thrift bank subsidiaries BPI Direct BanKo Inc. and Legazpi Savings Bank Inc., creating the sixth largest savings bank in the country.
BanKo will be the surviving entity, the Ayala-led bank said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday.
The union will create an entity with about P72 billion in assets, dislodging Sterling Bank of Asia as the sixth largest thrift bank in the Philippines.
“A merger between the two BPI subsidiaries will result in a stronger and more resilient capital structure for the combined entity, leading to a more efficient use of capital,” the disclosure said.
“Consolidating the two institutions is expected to support long-term sustainability, capital adequacy and operational flexibility.”
Moving up a notch
Based on data compiled by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, BanKo is the seventh largest thrift bank in the country, with assets amounting to P56.74 billion as of end-June 2025.
Legazpi Savings, on the other hand, has assets of about P15.11 billion.
Once merged, the BPI subsidiaries will have a bigger balance sheet than Sterling Bank of Asia, which has P64.7 billion in resources.
In 2022, parent bank BPI likewise merged with then its biggest thrift bank arm, BPI Family Savings Bank.
Another merger soon came after following a deal with the Gokongweis to take over Robinsons Bank.
The merger is subject to corporate and regulatory approvals.
BPI said the integration would “reinforce market presence and improve customer acquisition and retention for the merged bank.”
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