BPI gets clearance to sell back 15% GoTyme stake

October 10, 2024
10:06AM PHT

The Zobel family-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) received clearance from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to sell its 15-percent stake in GoTyme Bank for about P900 million.

In a stock exchange filing on Thursday, BPI said it received the BSP’s approval notice on Oct. 9, 2024.

BPI ended up with a stake in GoTyme through its purchase of and merger with Robinsons Bank, which is part of the Gokongwei family conglomerate that owns GoTyme with joint venture partner Tyme.

BPI decided to sell its GoTyme stake to “address any potential conflict of interest created by the significant overlap in and similarity of product offerings of GoTyme Bank and BPI.”

The merger also resulted in the Gokongwei Group becoming the second-largest shareholder of BPI after the Zobels. Based on its latest ownership filing, Gokongwei-led JG Summit Capital and Robinsons Retail Holdings own about 9 percent of BPI.

Fast-growing digital banks

GoTyme is among a handful of digital banks that were established to make it easier for Filipinos to access financial services.

A recent report by BusinessWorld showed that GoTyme had reached P19 billion in deposits last August.

This puts it on track to breach P20 billion in deposits and a client base of 5.2 million by the end of 2024.

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