MANILA - BPI's sale of its stake in digital bank GoTyme has received the nod of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Ayala-led lender disclosed to the stock exchange on Thursday.

BPI said last March 20, its Board of Directors approved selling 752,056,290 common shares in GoTyme valued at P1.20 per share to GoTyme Financial Pte. Ltd. and Giga Investment Holdings Pte. Ltd.

The shares were acquired when BPI bought Robinsons Bank, which was also owned by the Gokongwei group.

"On 1 April 2024, Deeds of Absolute Sale of Shares covering the abovementioned sale of GoTyme Bank shares were signed by the authorized representatives of BPI," the Ayala-led bank said.

On Oct. 9, BPI said it received the BSP resolution approving the sale.

BPI said the sale is intended to address any potential conflict of interest created by the significant overlap in and similarity of product offerings of GoTyme Bank and BPI.

Last July, GoTyme said it is looking to break even next year and achieve profitability in 2026.

Launched in 2022 by the Gokongwei Group and Singapore's Tyme Group, the digital bank said it has seen a 600 percent year-on-year growth in monthly transactions and over 250,000 new customers per month.

BPI meanwhile said it delivered record earnings in the first quarter of 2024, with net income climbing 25.8 percent to reach P15.3 billion. The Ayala-led bank said its net income reached P30.6 billion in the first half of 2024.