BAP supports faster integration of Asean banks

MANILA, Philippines - The Bankers Association of the Philippines has expressed its full support to the acceleration of the integration of banking services among South East Asian Nations.

 During the 43rd ABC Meeting in Yangon, Myanmar, the BAP, represented by its president Lorenzo V. Tan of RCBC and executive director Cesar Virtusio, joined counterpart banks across the region in pushing for a speedier implementation of the ASEAN-wide certification program for the ASEAN One Banking Integration.  

The program is among the many “next steps” necessary to achieve integrated financial markets in the 10-member ASEAN by 2015. 

During the Myanmar meeting, the BAP actively participated in the different discussion sessions which outlined the main programs that will be pursued by participating countries in 2014.

Among these are: the continuation of a one to one mentoring program which addresses the banking education needs of ASEAN member countries; the conduct of promotional workshops to increase awareness of ISO 20022 – an international payment standard recognized by the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Banks as the standard to be adopted by ASEAN; the promotion for inter-operability of payments as well as facilitate the integration of cross-border payment systems among ASEAN countries, and; the conduct of study tours to build inter-regional relations. 

An initiative to establish an efficient and robust intra-ASEAN Payment System was likewise presented during the convention. At the end of the meeting, the Philippine delegation agreed to host the 2014 conference in Manila. 

“It will be a privilege for the country and for the Filipinos to have a first hand role in further shaping the future of banking across the ASEAN,” said BAP president Tan.  â€œThe 44th ABC Meeting along with the 20th ASEAN Banking Conference will be hosted by the BAP in Cebu by the last quarter 2014,” he added. 

The ABC is a consolidation of the national banking associations representing such countries as 1) Brunei, (2) Cambodia, (3) Indonesia,  (4) Laos Bankers’ Association, (5) Malaysia, (6) Myanmar, (7) the Philippines, (8) Singapore, (9) Thailand, and (10) Vietnam.