Duterte Opens Bank Dedicated to the Needs of Overseas Filipinos

President Rodrigo Duterte launched on Thursday the Overseas Filipino Bank, a fruition of his campaign promise to establish the first-ever bank dedicated to the needs of overseas-based Filipinos.

In his speech during the launching of the Overseas Filipino Bank at the former Philippine Postal Savings Bank (PostBank) head office in Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila, the President said he was happy that he was able to fulfill one of his campaign promises.

In September last year, the President issued Executive Order (EO) No. 44 ordering the Philippine Postal Corporation and the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) to transfer their PostBank shares to LandBank at zero value.

The EO further stated that the former Postal Bank will be converted into the “Overseas Filipino Bank,” which will be a “policy bank dedicated to provide financial products and services tailored to the requirement of overseas Filipinos” and will focus on delivering “quality and efficient foreign remittance services.”

“The Overseas Filipino Bank (OFB) is envisioned to provide a wide array of financial services to overseas Filipinos, especially the country’s migrant workers, so that they would no longer be vulnerable to expensive remittance services and investment scams,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said.

“The OFB is another step towards reshaping our economic progress to make it more inclusive. It will help fulfill our goal of shifting to an investment-driven economy. More important, our overseas workers would be able to invest in their country which they have helped transform into one of the fastest-growing economies in the region,” Dominguez said.

He clarified that the Bank was initially conceptualized as a financial institution for OFWs, but its coverage was expanded to include all Filipinos based overseas to make it more inclusive.

“There is no other institution like this one,” said Dominguez.

As a subsidiary of the Land Bank of the Philippines, Dominguez said the OFB can be assured of “exemplary financial expertise and sufficient capital to ensure its success.”

He said the DOF and LandBank are also planning to secure licenses in other countries with large concentrations of overseas Filipinos so the LandBank can provide financial advisory services to the Filipino communities in these areas. (PIA-NCR/EPC/SDL)