The government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines is setting up an OFW Bank in 2017 as part of the proposed acquisition of Philippine Postal Savings Bank (Postbank). The plan is to convert Postbank into a Landbank subsidiary, 30% owned by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The OFW Bank was a promise made by President Duterte to the migrant population of the country. News reports suggested the acquisition of the Postal Bank will be completed by the third quarter of 2017. Earlier, a merger of Landbank with the state-run Development Bank of the Philippines had been proposed but was shelved as the two banks had different mandates to serve. According to Landbank president Alex Buenaventura, it would take them eight months to convert Postbank into OFW Bank. The OFW Bank will be a listed company with an authorized capital of P3 billion and a subscribed capital of P2 billion, of which P1 billion is paid-up by Landbank.
