Celebrating 75 years…

Certificate Verification System, and developing financial literacy programs for overseas Filipino workers. The BAP also led in the organization of the Fixed Income Market with the incorporation PDS Holdings Corp., the parent company of the PDEX.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, all BAP member-banks provided different kinds of financial relief to Filipinos, helping individuals and businesses to mitigate the adverse impact of the recent health crisis.

“Overall, we are proud to contribute to a stronger Philippine economy throughout the decades,” Limcaoco said.

“Moving forward, we will continue to advocate for reforms that enable our financial system to remain innovative and resilient in the face of the everchanging global economic and operational landscape.”

MOVING FORWARD

Limcaoco said there would always be an opportunity for BAP to advocate for various reforms in areas such as financial inclusion, sustainability, human capital development and diversity, as well as cybersecurity.

“The BAP sees itself being at the forefront at ensuring that the industry remains innovative in the face of an environment that is continuing to be penetrated by technology,” he said.

“As such, we will work with government stakeholders in key areas such as financial inclusion, cybersecurity, and ensuring the innovation of banking services brought about by technology,” he said.

Limcaoco noted that the banking industry contributes to economic growth by safeguarding Filipinos’ hard-earned savings and offering pioneering retail services such as loans for consumers and businesses in the Philippines.

“For those seeking growth from capital markets, we serve as a bridge between businesses and investors,” he said.

“We do so by offering the bonds and shares of these businesses to investors at an appropriate valuation, and this enables businesses to raise capital to support their expansion plans,” he added.

“Banks leave their legacies in many aspects of national development and growth,” he said.

However, there are various challenges that the BAP could face in the coming years amid the evolving operating environment. Uncertain economic conditions and political risks would require banks to be flexible with their long-term growth strategies.

The BAP chief noted that the sector continues to face technological disruptions in operations.

“In response to this ongoing trend, local and global banking regulators continue to change regulatory frameworks so that they can continue to be relevant for the future. As such, there is a need for the industry and government agencies for close collaboration to ensure new regulations will maximize the potential of innovation,” he said.

“With this in mind, we continue to have strong partnerships with government agencies, allowing us to tackle opportunities to improve the industry’s services and products for the banking public. These alliances will allow us to weather these aforementioned challenges,” he added.

The BSP has been one of the BAP’s core partners in the government. For the past 75 years, the BAP has worked with the Bangko Sentral in pushing reforms on capital markets, cybersecurity, and sustainability, among others.

Philippine lawmakers also continually ask for valuable insights from the BAP on banking and bank-related issues.

“In the face of a banking system that continues to innovate and become responsive to the changing times, our legal framework must evolve to support the growth potentials of the financial sector and continue protecting the public’s interests at the same time,” Limcaoco said.

“As we move forward, close collaboration with all relevant government agencies is critical in the evolution of banking and finance,” he added.