BPI focuses on digitalization, sustainability

THE BANK of the Philippine Islands (BPI) held its annual stockholders as it outlined a strategy focused on customer obsession, digitalization and sustainability.

BPI President and CEO Jose Teodoro Limcaoco said reinvention is a way of life for BPI and is key to its sustained leadership throughout the years.  “We will continue to reinvent banking so that we can better serve the evolving needs of our clients. Digitalization, customer obsession and sustainability remain to be our focus as we move forward to a post-pandemic environment,” Limcaoco said.

Many companies purposely reduced expenses during the pandemic, while BPI spent nearly P9 billion or about 9% of total revenue in 2021 on technology, including new digital initiatives such as building and improving customer engagement platforms and onboarding new partners in its open banking business.

Last October, it announced plans to acquire and engage clients through seven customer engagement platforms, each specifically designed to fulfill the banking needs of a particular segment. Five platforms—BPI Online, BPI Mobile, BPI Trade, BizLink, and BanKo app—are already available today, with two more slated for release this year.

BPI’s ongoing digitalization journey continues to reinvent the customer interaction and experience. As of 2021, 4.9 million of its 8.46 million client base were enrolled in digital channels. Of the number, 3.24 million were active, up 20% from the previous year. BPI also has a growing list of over 80 API partners covering nearly 800 products and services, with over 100 million transactions in 2021, a 75% growth from the previous year.

“In 2021, we accelerated our goal to transform our Bank for the future while executing and growing through the pandemic,” Limcaoco said.

BPI also seeks to be heroes for its customers with a shift in mindset, saying last year, it created a new position for a Chief Customer and Marketing Officer, whose job is to put customer needs first. The bank also launched a concise version of its Core Values wherein everyone in the bank must be N.I.C.E, which touches on the need to be Nurturing, acting with Integrity, being Customer obsessed, and acting with Excellence.

BPI likewise strengthened its coverage of various client segments, by forming a consolidated consumer banking unit that focuses on providing relevant financial solutions to the retail market.  Corporate banking continues to cater to large corporations, Business banking covers the small, and medium enterprises, while Banko, its microfinance unit looks after the self-employed micro entrepreneurs.

Limcaoco acknowledged the role of BPI’s 19,000-strong workforce in delivering excellent financial solutions and service to clients. “They have stood by our customers throughout these challenging times, and they are very much the driving force behind the Bank we have become,” he said.

BPI has also affirmed its longstanding commitment to sustainability. Last year, it officially rolled out its Sustainability Agenda. As of end-2021, about 48% of the bank’s portfolio was tied to initiatives that contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

BPI is also the first and only Philippine bank to give a time-bound commitment to halve coal generation financing in its portfolio by 2026 and bring it down to zero by 2032. It also supports the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). BPI had also announced that it would no longer finance green-field coal power projects going forward.  In addition, BPI pioneered the first energy transition financing loan that would enable an existing coal plant to close 15 years ahead of its economic life.

These initiatives have drawn recognition for BPI in terms of economic, social, and governance standards. MSCI, S&P Global, and Sustainalytics gave BPI the highest marks among Philippine Banks in ESG Ratings in 2021. (Richard Ebona)