AWARD-WINNING FILIPINO BANKS AND INSURANCE COMPANIES
One of the Retail Banking Awards winners was the homegrown, publicly listed Union Bank of the Philippines. It collected not just one but two prizes — the Domestic Retail Bank of the Year award and the Debit Card Initiative of the Year award. The latter was won by the bank for the groundbreaking “GetGo” debit card product that it co- developed with local airline Cebu Pacific. The GetGo users earn points every time they use the card to pay for groceries, shop and make online purchases; the accumulated points, which are transferred to a GetGo account, enable the users to book free flights with Cebu Pacific.
The Digital Banking Initiative of the Year award was given to the Philippine National Bank. Meanwhile, its wholly owned subsidiary, PNB Savings Bank, took home the New Consumer Lending Product of the Year award for its Smart Salary Loan Program, which is open to regular employees of accredit companies. It is a facility with low interest and light payment terms, the loan being payable via monthly salary deduction.
The other Filipino Retail Banking Awards winners were BDO Unibank (Online Banking Initiative of the Year, Mobile Banking Initiative of the Year and Social Media Initiative of the Year); The Land Bank of the Philippines ( Employer Award of the Year — Gold and Graduate Employment Program of the Year); and Security Bank Corporation ( Advertising Campaign of the Year, Mortgage and Home Loan Product of the Year and Credit Card Initiative of the Year). BDO Unibank also achieved the Philippine Domestic Trade Finance Bank of the Year, becoming the sole Filipino bank winner at the Wholesale Banking Awards this year.
An Insurance Asia Awards winner from the Philippines was FWD Life Insurance Corporation. The honors it won were the New Insurance Product of the Year and the Marketing Initiative of the Year. The former was for FWD’s Peace, an anti- terrorism insurance plan that provides financial protection when a plan holder dies or suffers serious disability from acts of terrorism.
The other award-winning Filipino insurance companies were The Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. ( Domestic Life Insurer of the Year and Digital Insurance Initiative of the Year) and Sun Life of Canada ( Philippines), Inc. (CSR Initiative of the Year).