Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP; often referred to simply as LandBank), is a government-owned bank in the Philippines with a special focus on serving the needs of farmers and fishermen. While it provides the services of a universal bank, it is officially classified as a "specialized government bank" with a universal banking license. LandBank is the second largest bank in the Philippines in terms of assets and is the largest government-owned bank. It is also one of the biggest government-owned and controlled corporations and banking institutions in the Philippines along with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Overseas Filipino Bank (OFW Bank), and Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines. Unlike most Philippine banks, LandBank has an extensive rural branch network with 409 Branches and Extension Offices, 46 Lending Centers and 2,188 ATMs (as of February 2020). It services many rural sector clients in areas where banking is either limited to rural banks or is non-existent. History LandBank was established on August 8, 1963, as part of the Agricultural Land Reform Code as part of a program of land reform in the Philippines. It was to help with the purchase of agricultural estates for division and resale to small landholders and the purchase of land by the agricultural lessee. In 1965, LandBank's by-laws were approved and its first board of trustees was formed, with the Secretary of Finance as chairman. On October 21, 1972, Presidential Decree No. 27, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos, emancipated all tenant farmers working on private agricultural lands devoted to rice and corn, whether working on a landed estate or not. The system was implemented through a system of sharecropping or lease-tenancy. LandBank was tasked to collect 15-year land amortizations from beneficiaries at the cost of the value of the land plus six percent interest per annum. By 1973, LandBank was in financial distress. It lacked the resources and the capital needed to implement the land reform programs and lacked the structure to implement the programs efficiently. On July 21, Marcos signed Presidential Decree No. 251 which revitalized the bank. The decree granted LandBank a universal banking license (the first bank in the Philippines to be issued such a license) with a social mission to spur countryside development. The decree expanded LandBank's powers to include lending for agricultural, industrial, homebuilding and home-financing projects and other productive enterprises, as well as lending to farmers' cooperatives