BPI’s Montinola named among Asia’s best

A respected banking and finance regional publication has named Aurelio Montinola III, president and chief executive officer of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), among Asia’s top banking leaders.

The Asian Banker Achievement Awards 2005 was based on an industry-wide peer review supported by The Asian Banker, and validated by a distinguished panel of independent judges.

Montinola is the only Filipino banker named by the regional publication which included 24 individual Asian bankers and financial executives.

In November 2005, The Asian Banker initiated a new program, called The Asian Banker Achievement Awards program, to recognize individual achievements in the financial services industry on an annual basis. The program is designed to recognize the tactical skills of leaders and highly talented individuals in the financial services industry based on specific achievements in the past year that demonstrates the ability to apply high professional standards in response to challenges in a fast changing marketplace.

Some of the distinguished winners were: Nobuo Kuroyanagi, president and chief executive officer of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group; Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Construction Bank; Kang Chung Won, president of the Kookmin Bank; David Conner, president of the OCBC Bank; Djohan Emir Setijoso, president director of the Bank Central Asia; Chartsiri Sophonpanich, president of the Bangkok Bank; He Guangbei, vice chairman and chief executive of the Bank of China (Hong Kong); John McFarlane, chief executive officer of the ANZ Bank; K.V. Kamath, managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Bank; Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Dato Dr. The Hong Piow, chairman of the Public Bank; Michael Hamar, group chief risk officer of the National Australia Bank; and, David Eldon, former chairman of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC).

The methodology for assessment was built around a rigorous process, involving several elements. This included a peer review based firstly on nominations received from the industry and an internal review conducted by our research team.

A total of 380 nominations were received from all countries in the region. Each nomination was quantifiably assessed by our research staff and a final submission made to the external panel of judges for their evaluation and validation of the process.

The external panel of judges was selected for their independence and familiarity with the financial services industry. It was headed by William Seidman, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in the United States; Dr. Michael Ong, professor of Finance at the Stuart Graduate School of Business, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Dr. Wei S. Yen, managing director, Financial Institutions, Asia Pacific, Moody’s. – TPT