Legacies of past BAP presidents

Throughout the past 75 years, the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) has been a critical voice for the entire Philippine banking industry in advocating for key reforms to safeguard banks and their clients.

Leading the helm of this responsibility were numerous presidents that faced challenges unique to the operating environment of their respective times, enabling the association as a whole to be a proactive partner with the government in pursuing solutions to multiple banking crises.

“The BAP continues to remain flexible and innovative with its advocacies through the effective leadership of its presidents, both current and past,” BAP’s current president Jose Teodoro Limcaoco said.

“From the debt crisis in the 1980s, the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s, the global financial crisis in the late 2000s, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the BAP has been at the forefront of advocating for reforms aimed at restoring confidence in the economy, providing financial relief to consumers, and strengthening the foundations of the banking industry.”

Felix Dela Costa served as the BAP president from 1949 to 1952. He was the commissioner of the Bureau of Banking as was vice president of the Philippine Bank of Commerce. The founding fathers of the BAP looked up to Dela Costa’s leadership and conferred on him the honor of being the first President of the BAP.

From 1952 to 1954, Eduardo Romualdez, president of Philippine Trust Company, served as next the BAP president after Dela Costa.

Achievements:

• Created the Bankers’ Committee which advised the Monetary Board on Foreign Exchange Payments and Import Controls.

• Started the Bankers’ Club, a restaurant and lounge for meetings and social activities for members of the BAP.

The BAP’s third president was Alfonso Calalang, who was also the president of Security Bank and Trust Company. He served the BAP from 1954 to 1960.

Achievements:

• Participated in the Dialogue for the Passage of Republic Act No. 1405, The Law on the Secrecy of Bank Deposits and the Commissioning of the BAP Seal.

Next in line was Manuel Marquez, chairman of the board and then president of the Commercial Bank and Trust Company, who served as the BAP president from 1960 to 1966.

Achievements:

• Incorporated the BAP and established both the BAP Foreign Exchange Trading Center and the Call Loan Market.

Mariano H. Laurel acted as the president of the BAP and the BAP Banking Corp. from 1966 to 1968 .

Achievements:

• Codified BAP bylaws achieved prior to his term led to BAP’s incorporation and creating the Central Clearinghouse of Privileged Information.

Chester Babst was president of Pacific Banking Corp. and served as the BAP President from 1968 to 1971.

Achievements:

• Implemented income tax return filing through banks

• Oversaw the establishment of a floating foreign exchange rate system under central bank directives.

In 1971 to 1974, Jose Fernandez Jr. took his oath as the BAP chief, following Babst. He was also the president of Far East Bank and Trust Company during his time.

Achievements:

• Pushed for magnetic ink character recognition in bank checks

• Undertook the centralized salary disbursement system

• Assisted in drafting the Philippine Foreign Currency Deposit System Manual

Alberto de Villa-Abrille, who was president of the Bank of the Philippine

Islands, served as the next BAP president from 1974 to 1975.

Achievements:

• Amended the BAP rules on general banking operations and procedures

• Contributed to the ASEAN Bankers Convention project as originally proposed by the Association of Banks in Singapore

Following de Villa-Abrille was Wilfrido Tecson, former president of Consolidated Bank and Trust Corp. , serving as the BAP president from 1975 to 1977. Achievements:

• Led the organization of the Philippine Clearing House Corp.

• Participated in the dialogue for the offshore banking and expanded FCDU system.

Next was Augusto Barcelon, president of Far East Bank and Trust Company and served as the BAP president from 1977 to 1979.

Achievements:

• Led M.I.C.R. projects such as the adoption of bank routing symbols and transit numbers, standard check sizes, account number structure, checkbook designs, and check paper requirements.

• Hosted the second ASEAN Banking Council meeting on June 18, 1977. This was the first ever ASEAN Banking Council meeting to be held in the Philippines.

Antonio Ozaeta was president of the Philippine Commercial and Industrial Bank and was the BAP president from 1979 to 1981.

Achievements:

• Participated in the deliberations for universal banking.

• Launched a new lending window to provide financial assistance and lending services exclusively to small and mediumscale industries.

• Hosted the eighth ASEAN Banking Council meeting on July 5 to 7, 1980.

After Ozaeta was Edward Go, who was president of the Philippine Bank of

Communications and served as the BAP head from 1981 to 1983.

Achievements:

• Initiated the creation of the PCHC Arbitration Committee

• Presided over the reformulation of the Manila Reference Rate

• Created the BAP Information Committee

Next in line was Basilio Estanislao. He was president of the Land Bank of the Philippines and served as the BAP President from 1983 to 1985. Achievements

• Created a Foreign Exchange Scarcity Crisis Committee

• Constituted the BAP Advisory Council

• Organized the Council of Financial Associations of the Philippines

• Hosted the 14th ASEAN Banking Council meeting on February 16 to 18, 1984

• Hosted the fifth ASEAN Banking Conference which was the first ever ASEAN Banking Conference to be held in the Philippines.

Manuel Morales was the president of the Equitable Banking Corp. and served as the BAP chief from 1985 to 1989.

Achievements:

• Placed a centralized credit information exchange amongst BAP members and found a permanent office at the 11th floor of the Sagittarius Condominium Building in Salcedo Village, Makati City, effectively ending the nomadic life of the BAP Secretariat.

Xavier Loinaz was president of Bank of the Philippine Islands and served as the BAP president from 1989 to 1991.

Achievements:

• Established the BAP Ateneo Institute of Banking, the BAP Credit Bureau, the BAP Credit Guarantee Corp. , and the BAP Oil Pit.

• The BAP also hosted the 19th ASEAN Banking Council meeting on November 9 to 12, 1989.

Octavio Espiritu was president of Far East Bank and Trust Company and served as the BAP president from 1991 to 1994.

Achievements:

• Launched the Philippine Dealing System

• Implemented the BAP PCHC-FX Clearing and Settlement System for OFWs

• He was also a signatory to the Memorandum creating the Capital Market Development Council.

Right after Espiritu was Rafael Buenaventura, who was the president of Philippine Commercial International Bank and served as the head of BAP from 1994 to 1997. Achievements:

• Launched the Philippine Domestic Dollar Transfer System

• Launched the Philippine Dealing System II

• Introduced the Philippine Interbank Offered Rate

• Established the Philippine Central Depository, Inc.

• The BAP also hosted the 10th ASEAN Banking Conference and 24th ASEAN Banking Council meeting on November 22 to 26, 1994.

Succeeding Buenaventura was Deogracias Vistan, who was the president of Solid Bank and served as the BAP chief from 1997 to 1999. Achievements:

• Formulated the FX Volatility Bond to calm the market during the ASEAN financial contagion.

• Implemented the BSP Electronic Funds Transfer Instruction System and the incorporation of the LGU Guarantee Corp. .

Placido Mapa Jr. was the next BAP president, serving from 1999 to 2002. He was also the vice chairman of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company. Achievements:

• Implemented the Mark-to-Market Valuation Policies

• Undertook the BAP Market Reforms Project

• Conceptualized the Fixed Income Exchange.

• The BAP also hosted the 29th ASEAN Banking Council meeting on November 11 to 13, 1999.

Cesar Virata was the corporate vice chairman of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. and served as the BAP President from 2002 to 2006.

Achievements:

• Formalized the Fixed Income Exchange with the incorporation of the BAP Consulting Incorporated in April 2002, the precursor to the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Incorporated.

• Reorganized the Open Market Committee and transferred some of its functions to the Capital Markets Committee and the Education Committee

• Contributed to the launching of the Philippine Payment and Settlement System.

• The BAP also hosted the 15th ASEAN Banking Conference and 34th ASEAN Banking Council meeting on September 16 to 18, 2004.

Ramon Sy was the vice chairman of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company and then president of United Coconut Planters Bank. He served as the BAP president from 2006 to 2008. Achievements:

• Implemented the Philippine Dealing System Treasury reference rate.

• Introduced the MART1 Forwards interest rate swaps and the Collateralized Deposit Repurchase agreement.

• The migration of the PDS Foreign Exchange spot trading into the PDEX trading system

• The establishment of the RBB (Rafael B. Buenaventura) Micro Finance Foundation.

Next in line was Aurelio Montinola III, who was president of the Bank of the Philippine Islands and served as the BAP President from 2008 to 2012. Achievements:

• Implemented the BAP-BOC Payment Application System

• Launched the Bank Certificate Verification System

• Developed the Financial Literacy Program for beneficiaries of OFWs

Following Montinola was Alberto S. Villarosa, who was the president of Security Bank Corp. and served as the BAP chief from 2012 to 2013. Achievements:

• Developed the Business Continuity Plan to ensure continued operations after severe or largescale disasters.

• The extension of the afternoon foreign exchange trading session from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

• Launched the Cash Reserve Position Reporting System and reached the highest point in the number of banking trainings and other education-related activities.

After Villarosa was Lorenzo Tan, president and CEO of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. . He served as the BAP president from 2013 to 2016. Achievements:

• Spearheaded the consolidation of The Philippine Stock Exchange and the Philippine Dealing System Holdings, Inc.

• Spearheaded the consolidation to establish a single ATM Network.

• Conducted various financial literacy symposia for OFW Beneficiaries.

• Collaborated with the Philippine Association of Collegiate Schools of Business or PACSB for the BAP’s Faculty Immersion Program.

• Hosted the 20th ASEAN Banking Conference and the 44th ASEAN Banking Council Meeting on November 12 to 14, 2014.

• Integrated the ATM networks of Bancnet and Megalink

• Developed the National Retail Payments

• Initiated the implementation of ISO20022

• Published the Business of Banking Handbooks

• Secured a favorable resolution of the PEACe bonds

• Pushed for the ratification of the FATCA

• Hosted the 50th Anniversary and 65th Foundation Year of the BAP, and 20th ASEAN Banking Conference and 44th ASEAN Banking Council Meeting

• After 29 years, relocated the BAP headquarters to its new premises

From 2016 to 2018, Nestor Tan, president and CEO of BDO Unibank, Inc. took the helm of the BAP. Achievements:

• Developed a prototype of the BAP Digital ID Registry under the data exchange utilities

• Adopted the Government Securities Roadmap in the over-the-counter market

• Formed a Task Force for Cybercrime under the Cybersecurity Committee

• Acquired license from the Securities and Exchange Commission as Benchmark

• Administrator for the PH GS benchmarks on October 25, 2018

• Participated and contributed to the launching of the Bureau of the Treasury’s NRoSS system

• Successful enactment of the amendments to the BSP charter under Republic Act No. 11211 • Instituted governance reforms

• Developed the Philippine Banking Roadmap to promote financial inclusion, stability, cost and efficiency, regional competitiveness through data exchange utilities, cybersecurity, financial inclusion programs and proactive regulatory dialogue

• Enhanced the dollar-peso spot and fixed income OTC markets

• Revised the SRO rules

• Organized the structure of the NRPS framework

• Supported the amendment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and its IRR

• Revisited the sale of PDS shares to PSE

• Conducted various Bankers Assembly

Cezar Consing, former president and CEO of Bank of Philippine Islands, served as the BAP chief from 2019 to 2020. He was the BAP president during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Achievements:

• The BAP worked with the central bank and the Finance department to ensure that the banking industry would be considered as a “critical industry,” allowing bank offices and branches to remain open while observing the appropriate health protocols

• Early in the lockdowns, the BAP worked with the Chamber of Thrift Banks and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines to propose an array of initiatives for consideration by the BSP and Congress. These include:

– providing much-needed financing and refinancing for MSMEs

– reducing reserve requirements, BSP supervisory fees, and similar measures

– increasing the capital of government financial institutions to allow them to support economic recovery programs

– and re-enacting the SPAV law of 2002 to allow banks to reduce their NPL and NPA levels.

• BAP worked closely with Congress on legislative measures introduced to cushion the ill effects of the pandemic and the lockdowns. This includes the Bayanihan I and II, FIST, GUIDE, Cybercrime, Agri-Agra, AMLA, Virtual Banking, PDIC Charter Change, Bank Secrecy and Fintech bills

• BAP Cybersecurity Committee expanded and strengthened its long-running cybersecurity public awareness campaign as incidents of phishing and other forms of cyber fraud increased during the pandemic with the growth of digital transactions

• The BAP Education Committee launched the BAP Training Portal

• Formulated the Republic Act 11901, or the Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development Financing Enhancement Act of 2022

• Implemented the BAP Cybersecurity Incident Database (BAPCID)

• Led the industry towards the adoption of Sustainable Finance Framework and ESG initiatives

• Reevaluated the proposed acquisition of PDS shares

• Adopted the FX Global Code of Conduct Jose Arnulfo Veloso was the president and CEO of Philippine National Bank and 2021’s BAP President. Achievements:

• Proposed a single clearing and settlement operator for all digital payments

• Worked with the BAP Board to undertake a review and challenge of the supervision fee framework in the country

• Partnered with Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) to launch a multimedia educational campaign on cybersecurity

• Proposed a bill to criminalize phishing, other forms of social engineering hacks, and impose the maximum amount of penalty as a form of economic sabotage

• Worked with the BSP on various policy initiatives and regulatory reliefs to weather the impact of the global health crisis

• Collaborated with the National Government on fiscal programs and efforts towards the road to economic recovery

• Involved in the discussions of various legislative policy initiatives to address the pandemic: FIST, GUIDE

• Actively participated in legislative and regulatory initiatives related to digitization: Virtual banking, Open Finance, Fintech Law, Fair Credit Report, Digital peso

• Commenced periodic High-Level policy discussions with the BSP

• Achieved better fees for trading participants in the fixed income market

• Involved in the implementation of Republic Act No.10173, otherwise known as the “Data Privacy Act” Lastly, Antonio Moncupa Jr. who was president and CEO of EastWest Banking Corp., was the BAP president in 2022. Achievements:

• Actively participated on House Bills No. 2013 and 3172, or the Financial Account Regulations Act of 2022.

• Spearheaded the creation of the Data Privacy Coordination Group (DPCG)

• Worked with the BSP on their Open Finance Framework to ensure that the Project aims to have a consent-driven Open Finance ecosystem

• Assisted in the dissemination of PSA advisories to member banks and brought up directly to the PSA PhilID Team the banking industry’s concerns and issues on the PhilID implementation

• Engaged the services of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development and an international consulting firm to conduct an independent study to determine a cost-based and risk-adjusted approach in setting supervision fees

• BAP became the SEC-licensed Benchmark Administrator for the PH Government Securities Market and the de facto administrator for the FX and Derivatives Markets.

• Adopted the latest FX Global Code as part of its role as the de facto administrator of the US Dollar-Philippine Peso foreign exchange market

• Rationalized the operations and governance of the Philippine payments framework

• Pushed for the review of the supervision fees to improve the cost-efficiency of the banking business

• BAP obtained its permanent license from the SEC as benchmark administrator for the GS benchmarks

• Launched the GS Repo general collateral market

• Prepared the market for the permanent cessation of LIBOR and developed the PHIREF fallbacks

• Heavily involved in the crafting of the IRR of Republic Act No. 11901 entitled “The Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development Financing Enhancement Act of 2022”