FINANCE Secretary Ralph Recto said that the proposed merger between the state-run lenders Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) was turned down.

Recto made the revelation at the Bureau of Customs’ 122nd anniversary celebration in Manila.

According to the Finance chief, he has decided against the plan to merge the two state-owned banks, with Landbank as the surviving entity.

“I think we’re better off with two government depository banks,” he said.

Former Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno had pushed for the merger of Landbank and DBP.

Diokno had said that it can generate at least P5.3 billion in savings annually or at least P20 billion for the next four years.

He said that a merger can create a largel banking institution in the Philippines that will have an estimated asset size of about P4.18 trillion.

It will also have a deposit base of P3.59 trillion, and a capital of P288 billion.

This is based on the figures as of December 31, 2022.

The proposed merger of Landbank and DBP received the go-ahead from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in March last year, with Diokno saying that a merger would eliminate redundancy and inefficiency in operations.