MANILA, Philippines — Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is looking to convert all branches and systems of Robinsons Bank Corp. in 12 to 18 months, following the merger of the two banks earlier this year.
BPI executive vice president Elfren Antonio Sarte said all employees of Robinsons Bank have been taken in by BPI through the merger.
However, all branches of Robinsons Bank have not yet been integrated with the Ayala-led lender. BPI has yet to convert its systems, he said.
“I think (BPI chief technology officer Alexander Seminiano) will try to do this in phases,” Sarte said. “(It will take) over 12 to 18 months to convert.”
Sarte was the former president and CEO at the Gokongwei-owned Robinsons Bank.
As of 2022, Robinsons Bank has 190 branches and 399 automated teller machines nationwide.
In its website, Robinsons Bank said it would implement activities after the merger to integrate BPI and Robinsons Bank process, which they hope will be completed by the end of 2025.
The marriage between the two banks took effect on Jan. 1 after the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas gave the green light in December 2023.
BPI president and CEO Jose Teodoro Limcaoco said some of the best performing BPI branches in terms of cross selling were former Robinsons Bank branches.
“They’ve been able to really get a hold of the BPI products and sell it to their clients and I’m really grateful to the kind of professionalism that the Robinsons Bank team has,” Limcaoco said.
According to Limcaoco, six percent of BPI’s 19-percent loan portfolio increase in the first quarter came from Robinsons Bank clients.
Meanwhile, Sarte said the strengths of the two banks in consumer and corporate banking has created an opportunity to leverage one another’s skills within a wider financial ecosystem.
“The strength that we have that we’re bringing to BPI is our capability to touch the Gokongwei ecosystem. We are serving a lot of the Gokongwei financial needs or banking services. That’s the model that we want to bring into BPI,” Sarte said.
Sarte also hopes that this could expand the Ayala Group ecosystem.
“We’re very confident that we can contribute, (especially at) cross selling. Our people in Robinsons Bank are very good at cross selling. So, we’re confident they will contribute to the targets of BPI this year,” Sarte added.
After posting record earnings in the first quarter, BPI is optimistic about its growth prospects for 2024 as it sees its loan book expanding by 11 to 12 percent largely brought about by higher consumer loans.
The Ayala-led bank saw a record quarter net income of P15.26 billion in the first quarter, up by 26 percent compared to the same quarter in 2023 mainly driven by strong revenue growth.