Inspiring women leaders in banking
The country’s financial sector enjoys abundant examples of women empowerment. From regulatory related entities, women perform leadership roles that are crucial to organizational success.
More women are taking control of their households’ wealth management. More women are taking the helm in running businesses. And more women leaders are driving positive change into the industry itself.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is one of the institutions that recognize the importance of empowering women. The BSP’s commitment to gender equality is a reflection of the significant contributions women have made to the financial sector and the broader economy throughout the years.
In its latest Financial Inclusion Survey, the BSP said women outranked men in 2021 when it comes to financial account ownership, smartphone and internet access, online financial transactions, use of formal credit, fund transfer remittances, and financial literacy.
Females also made significantly more payments than males, highlighting a woman’s greater role in payment transactions, the central bank earlier said.
As the regulator of the country’s monetary policy and financial system, the BSP has also enabled women’s active participation in policy formulation, implementation and supervision.
As of end 2023, the BSP has a total of 6,080 active employees wherein 54.75 percent were male, and 45.25 percent were female. The percentage of women in the BSP workforce has been steady over the past seven years.
“Women are nurturing leaders. You grow, blossom and shine with them,” BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier told The STAR.
Fonacier started working in the BSP as a bank examiner in 1984 until she became deputy governor of the Financial Supervision Sector (FSS) in 2017. The FSS is mainly responsible for the regulation of banks and other BSP-supervised financial institutions.
She directly oversees five sub-sectors that handle onsite examination and offsite surveillance of banks and financial institutions, especially in areas such as anti-money laundering, trust, financial market operations and information technology.
Fonacier led the BSP’s main supervisory unit that dealt with challenged banks in 2008. A record number of bank issues were successfully resolved when she was in charge.
She is on her second and extended term as the chair of the Executives’ Meeting of East Asia Pacific Central Banks Working Group on Banking Supervision. She is also the head of the Global Standards and Policy of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.
As part of its efforts to widen financial inclusion and significantly contribute to the overall advancement of digitalization, the central bank has been promoting cashless payments through its Paleng-QR Ph program with BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat taking the lead.
Puyat has been with the central bank for nearly two years, following her role as the Tourism secretary under the Duterte administration from May 2018 to June 2022.
“Having been with the BSP for close to two years, I can say that the agency prioritizes gender inclusion, not just workplace equality. In fact, women hold key leadership roles at various levels within the BSP,” she told
The STAR.
She also highlighted financial inclusion as one of the BSP’s principal advocacies.
“An important aspect of that agenda is supporting women-led and -owned micro, small, and medium enterprises so they can contribute more to the socioeconomic well-being of their communities,” she said.
“Given that women are the dominant players and owners in the MSME space, the BSP continues to advocate for the improvement of the MSME financing ecosystem to reduce gender gaps in accessing and using financial products and services,” she added.
Prior to her stint at the Tourism department, Puyat served as undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture between January 2007 and May 2018.
Land Bank of the Philippines, one of the country’s government financial institutions, has also been championing diversity and representation in its own workforce, Landbank president and CEO Lynette Ortiz said.
“With 68 percent empowered women in our workforce, we believe that the unique skills and perspectives brought to the table are essential in driving growth and dynamism in our institution,” Ortiz told The STAR.
Ortiz assumed the top post in state-run Landbank last year, bringing over 30 years of experience in local and international banking, covering risk management, treasury, corporate finance and capital markets in foreign and local institutions.
She serves as first vice president in the board of the Bankers Association of the Philippines and is also a member of the BAP executive committee.
“Representation and inclusion of our diverse talent is key in developing more responsive solutions to better serve our customers across our wide footprint,” Ortiz said.
“We actively challenge stereotypes, offer support to female colleagues, and openly celebrate role models to drive a more inclusive work environment,” she added.
Ortiz was named UN Women 2021 Philippine Women’s Empowerment Principles Awards Champion for Leadership Commitment, recognizing her role in setting strong corporate commitments and inclusive leadership.