BPI to have JAZA as chairman and Montinola as president

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II is reportedly taking over the chairmanship of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) with Xavier P. Loinaz as the new vice chairman when the bank holds its annual stockholders meeting in the first half of the year.

Jaime Augusto would officially replace his father Jaime Zobel de Ayala who recently retired, paving the way for the board changes in the country’s second biggest commercial bank.

Loinaz, who is presently president and board member, would be named vice chairman and chief executive officer.

Erstwhile senior executive vice president Aurelio Montinola III is reportedly being eyed to fill up the vacuum created by the resignation of board member Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr. who was named as new president of the Philippine Stock Exchange. Montinola would be named as the bank’s president and chief operating officer.

Except for these changes, no other changes are seen for the rest of the existing board members. The present board include Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Rebecca G. Fernando, Romeo L. Bernardo, Gerardo C. Ablaza Jr., Mercedita S. Nolledo, Octavio V. Espiritu, Jackson Peter Tai, Kankipati Rajan Raju, Haruo Kawamoto, Frank Kwong Shing Wong, and Sadao Kobayashi.

Meanwhile, BPI reported P343 billion in total assets as of end-2003 in its just-released statement of condition.

Assets held under trust and investment management stood at P124 billion. Loans pegged at P147 billion while investment in bonds and debt instruments at P99 billion.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) recorded at P11.9 billion or 7.14 percent of total loan portfolio, still way below the industry average for the commercial banking system of 15 percent.

Loan-loss reserves ratio was placed at 50.82 percent of NPLs, or an absolute amount of P6 billion. Return on equity (ROE) stood at 11.21 percent.