PNB to pay property dividends on Oct. 25

PHILIPPINE National Bank (PNB) will pay property dividends consisting of its 51% equity stake in PNB Holdings Corp. (PHC) on Oct. 25, it said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.

These are for stockholders who had been issued electronic certificates authorizing registration by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as of Aug. 29 and have fully settled their obligations, the lender said.

The dividend distribution will continue once the e-certificates are released by the BIR and all obligations are settled, it added.

The bank hired PNB Capital and Investment Corp. as financial adviser and lead arranger of the sale of at least 9.18% of its stake in PHC.

PNB said its board of directors had approved the distribution date and hiring of PNB Capital in a meeting on Sept. 27.

The property dividend will be distributed at a ratio of 0.156886919 shares of PHC for every PNB share, the bank said in a previous disclosure.

PNB’s board approved the property dividend declaration of up to 239.35 million common shares of PHC with a par value of P100 per share on April 23, 2021, subject to regulatory approvals.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the property dividend declaration on Dec. 24, 2021.

PNB’s attributable net income fell by 0.07% to P4.95 billion in the second quarter as it set aside higher loan loss provisions. This brought its net income for the first semester to P10.22 billion, up by 4.72% year on year.

Its shares gained 0.54% or 15 centavos to close at P28 apiece. — Aaron Michael C. Sy