Philippine National Bank

Philippine National Bank

Industry	Finance and Insurance
Founded	Manila, Philippines (1916)
Key people	Florencia G. Tarriela, Chairman Reynaldo A. Maclang, President & CEO
Services	Financial Services
Operating income	PHP 14.5 billion ( 9.06%) (2007)
Net income	PHP 1.5 billion (82.73%) (2007)
Total assets	PHP 240 billion (1.55%) (2007)
Total equity	PHP 26.5 billion (15.53%) (2007)
Owner	LT Group, Inc.
Number of employees	5,606
Website	www.pnb.com.ph

The Philippine National Bank (PNB, Filipino: Bangko Nasyonal ng Pilipinas,Castilian Spanish: Banco Nacional de Agricola de Filipinas) (: PNB) is one of the largest banks in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, during the American Occupation.

The bank was acquired by tycoon Lucio Tan after it was privatized by the government, and became the first universal bank in the Philippines in 1989. After its merger with the Tan-owned Allied Bank on February 9, 2013, PNB became fifth largest private domestic bank in the country.

PNB had 331 branches in the Philippines and 13 branches overseas as of end 2011.

The Philippine National Bank was established as a government-owned banking institution on July 22, 1916. Its primary mandate was to provide financial services to Philippine industry and agriculture and support the government's economic development effort. World War I, then raging in Europe, generated huge demand for the country's major exports namely: sugar, copra, coconut oil, Manila hemp and tobacco. However, not much was being done to develop the industries that produced these sought-after crops since access to credit facilities was limited. To solve this problem, Henderson Martin, Vice Governor of the Philippines, together with Miguel Cuaderno (who later became Central Bank governor) drafted a charter for a national bank.

On February 4, 1916, Public Act 2612 was passed by the Philippine Legislature providing for the establishment of PNB to replace the small P1 million government-owned Agricultural Bank. PNB's first head office was the Masonic Temple along Escolta, Manila, the then "Wall Street of the Philippines" in the bustling district of Sta. Cruz in Manila. An American, Henry Parker Willis, was its first president.

With PNB's establishment, Filipinos had a bank of their own. PNB was authorized to grant short and long-term loans to agriculture and industry. Filipino farmers then could avail of loans with interest between 8% to 10% per annum. PNB was also authorized to receive deposits, open foreign credits and rediscount bills.