TMB and Thanachart Bank agree to merge by year-end

TMB and Thanachart Bank (TBANK) announced in Bangkok that they will merge by the end of this year to become Thailand's sixth-largest bank. The approximately 130 billion baht transaction will create a financial institution with more than two trillion baht in assets serving 10 million customers.

ING is currently the largest shareholder in TMB with a 30 percent stake, and intends to maintain its position in the combined bank with a stake of about 21 percent. TBANK's current major shareholders Thanachart Capital and The Bank of Nova Scotia will hold approximately 20 percent and more than five percent of the new bank respectively, while the Thai Ministry of Finance is expected to own about 18 percent. The remaining shares will be held by minority shareholders.

"We've had favourable results from our investment in TMB since 2008 and we are positive on the digital development in the country's banking sector. That is why we decided to additionally invest about 12.5 billion baht to support the merger," said Mark Newman, who is responsible for ING's investment in TMB. ING had said earlier this year in February that we supported the merger proposal and expected to hold more than 20 percent if the transaction went ahead.