Veloso elected as GSIS’S new GM

VETERAN banker Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso was elected Thursday as president and general manager of the state-run pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

The GSIS Board of Trustees held the election through a special board meeting, the GSIS said in a statement.

Veloso, who has 36 years of banking experience, vowed to use what he learned from international finance and banking to contribute to nationbuilding.

“I now carry the responsibility of making sure that the retirement benefits of government employees are well-managed,” he said.

A turnover ceremony was also held at the GSIS Headquarters in Pasay wherein Veloso was welcomed by outgoing GSIS chief Rolando Ledesma Macasaet, GSIS executives and employees.

Veloso’s election comes less than a month after Malacañang announced his selection by then President-elect Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to be the next GSIS chief.

Under the law (Section 18 of the GOCC Governance Act of 2011 or Republic Act 10149), “the CEO or the highest-ranking officer provided in the charters of the government-owned or -controlled corporations [GOCCS], shall be elected annually by the members of the board among its ranks.”

Before Veloso’s appointment to the GSIS, Veloso was the president and chief executive officer of the Philippine National Bank (PNB).

Under his watch, the PNB was recognized by the TAB (The Asian Banker) International Pte Ltd. Asian Banker as the “Best Managed Bank” for demonstrating “excellence in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.” At the same time, the Singapore-headquartered publisher named Veloso as the “Best CEO” during the TAB’S annual “Leadership Achievement Awards.”

Prior to working for PNB, Veloso was an international banker who had built a wide network in international finance, especially in global banking and markets, a statement from the GSIS read. In 2012, Veloso was appointed as the first Filipino CEO at HSBC Philippines until he transferred as CEO of PNB in 2018.

“Throughout the Covid pandemic, Veloso has been directly working with leaders in the government and the banking industry to help support the overall economy,” a statement read.

A director of the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), Veloso was elected BPA president until March this year.

“At BAP, he helped frame rules and regulations together with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as well as legislators with the view of helping enhance the efficiency and the effectiveness of banks and banking services—and their contribution to the overall economy.”

Veloso earned his bachelor’s degree in commerce, major in marketing management, from the De La Salle University Manila, in 1986.