The resources accumulated by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) led by bankero Cecilia Borromeo has expanded by 160 percent over the past six years.
Borromeo’s boss and Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez, also LANDBANK chairman, said on Tuesday the state-owned lender’s stockholders’ equity has risen steadily during the period to P230.4 billion at present.
When Dominguez first became chairman, LANDBANK totalled only P88.7 billion in 2015 but steadily rose to P152.49 billion in 2019 to P177.64 billion in 2020 and to P207.68 billion last year.
Stockholders’ equity relates to all assets owned by the state-owned bank minus its liabilities.
This development made LANDBANK the second largest universal lender after privately-owned BDO Unibank and one with the highest paid-in capital in the country, according to Dominguez.
LANDBANK’s financial strength has also been used to deliver low-interest loans to the underserved sectors, particularly small farmers and fisherfolk, as well as support a broad section of the economy such as healthcare, education, power generation and distribution, water, transportation and housing, Dominguez said.
He turned over P136.2 billion worth of stocks to President Duterte in ceremonies in Malacanang late on Monday, saying the stocks represent the single biggest capital infusion by any administration into LANDBANK.
Dominguez told President Duterte that loans to the agricultural sector totaled P247.9 billion at end-2021 or 80 percent more than in 2015 when this totaled only P137.6 billion.
