BPI head named new BAP president

MANILA, Philippines — Jose Teodoro “TG” Limcaoco, president and CEO of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), was elected president of the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP).

Limcaoco replaces East West Banking Corp. vice chairman Antonio Moncupa Jr.

“As our country faces renewed challenges from global economic headwinds, there is a call for us in the banking industry to be forces of stability and growth so that our economy will continue to progress,” Limcaoco said.

The association of 44 member-banks held its annual general assembly and elected a new set of officers Wednesday.

“Given the advocacies we have pursued throughout the years and our strong alliance with partners such as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippine banking industry continues to be in a strong position to withstand shocks and serve the needs of the Filipino public,” Limcaoco said.

Also elected were Standard Chartered Bank CEO Lynette Ortiz as first vice president, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. president and CEO Eugene Acevedo as second vice president, UnionBank president and CEO Edwin Bautista as treasurer, and Bank of Commerce president and CEO Michelangelo Aguilar as secretary.

For his part, Moncupa said the BAP continues to pursue its advocacies to contribute to inclusive socio-economic development.

“The BAP is doing its part in the national effort for sustained growth. We have always been working towards better and more responsive financial services to support the economy and improve the lives of Filipinos,” he said.

“Better financial intermediation will make the economy more efficient by optimizing the allocation of debt capital, improving cost efficiency for financial services, and making financial services more responsive to the growing sophistication of households and businesses,” Moncupa added.

According to Moncupa, the organization continues to “make the banking system safer, more reliable, and more stable.”

Moncupa highlighted the various milestones the BAP achieved in the pursuit of its advocacies.

These include improving the framework and governance of payments infrastructure; working with legislators to promote market-determined resource allocation; continued coordination with regulatory authorities on matters such as open finance, data privacy, and the ongoing API-XML project as well as improving and updating market products and practices.

“There have been a lot of activities in 2022, and the coming years promise to be as frenetic,” Moncupa said.

“However, we can continue to achieve greater milestones because of the support and guidance of our board of directors. Issues continue to be manageable because of the working committees who do the actual spade work,” he said.