BIZ BUZZ: CHANGING OF THE GUARD

Cezar “Bong” Consing, the 13th president of storied Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), passed the baton yesterday to his successor, Teodoro “TG” Limcaoco.

At the bank’s stockholders’ meeting, BPI chair Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala thanked Consing for eight years of exemplary leadership.

“You have kept BPI safe and relevant, overweight to the needs of customers big and small in a challenging time, supported the employees and provided leadership to the industry, all while delivering solid results for the many investors who have allocated capital to the bank,” Zobel said.

The Ayala chief also noted how Consing had represented the banking industry “with great effectiveness” as the head of the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

In accepting the Ayala group’s invitation to head Southeast Asia’s oldest bank in 2013, Zobel said Consing became an integral fabric of BPI’s proud heritage of 170 years as a major contributor to the country’s economic development.

Consing joined BPI as a management trainee in 1981, the same year that Zobel started working for the Ayala conglomerate. He rose quickly to become the youngest assistant vice president in BPI’s history, before joining global institutions like JP Morgan.

Consing had served a total of 12 years as a BPI employee and executive and 19 years as a member of the board. After his retirement, he will remain on the board and as part of the executive committee.

Zobel also welcomed Limcaoco as the new president of BPI. This is a homecoming for Limcaoco, who previously headed BPI Capital and BPI Family. He told the media this was his “dream job.”

Limcaoco said he would like to see BPI as the “clear undisputed leader” in the digital banking space, promising greater investments in technology.

He also wants BPI to have a greater portfolio devoted to small and medium enterprises and to the consumer sector.

“I’ve always thought of myself as a retail banker,” Limcaoco said. He was not shy about declaring interest for the retail and consumer banking assets of Citibank.

Limcaoco also wants to transform branches into sales points rather than transaction points, as digital technology takes off.

He also vowed to continue efforts toward sustainable banking. By 2026, the plan is for BPI to halve lending to coalfired power plants. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA

Tribute to Loinaz

Last October, longtime BPI president and board member Xavier Loinaz stepped down from the board for health reasons. This was something really unexpected, Zobel said.

Before closing BPI’s stockholders’ meeting yesterday, Zobel paid tribute to Loinaz and sent him best wishes for a speedy recovery.

As president and CEO of BPI for 22 years, from 1982 to 2004, Zobel acknowledged how Loinaz guided the bank through some of the most tumultuous times in Philippine history, through the debt crisis in the early 1980s and the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

“Despite the difficult external environment, Xavier’s leadership tenure was marked by innovation and growth,” Zobel said, noting BPI was the first local bank to introduce automated teller machines (ATMs) in the 1980s. It was also under Loinaz’s leadership that BPI launched internet banking in 1999.

Loinaz also led some of the most significant acquisitions undertaken by BPI, including Family Bank in the 1980s, CityTrust in the 1990s and Far East Bank at the turn of the century.

“These acquisitions solidified BPI’s leadership position in the banking industry,” Zobel said, adding that Loinaz’s acquisition of life, property and casualty insurance companies also marked the dawning of bancassurance in the Philippines.

“Xavier left a legacy of steady and disciplined approach to the management of risk. This approach has continued to serve the bank very very well,” he said.

After retiring as CEO, Loinaz continued to serve BPI as director (and most recently as chair of audit committee). All in all, Loinaz had been a fixture in the BPI board for 40 years.

He was “instrumental in the creation of the modern BPI,” Zobel added. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA

Firms join CPP (Community Pantries of the Philippines)

Inspired by the example of the community pantries that have spontaneously mushroomed all over the country, a number of top corporations are putting up their own amid the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic that have rendered millions of Filipinos jobless.

Logistics company J&T Express Philippines opened earlier this week its first community pantry at their Muntinlupa branch on 37 National Highway, Barangay Putatan.

“Many Filipinos are grappling to survive this pandemic. J&T Express believes that during these challenging times, it is important to stand strong and help one another,” said J&T vice president Zoe Chi. Dealers of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. were likewise moved by the spirit of “bayanihan” and have put up their own pantries in different mobility stations.

“So proud that our Shell Mobility Stations and our retailers were quick to join this movement to extend a little help to the community,” said Shell vice president Randy Del Valle.

“These have been an incredible demonstration of compassion among Filipinos at a time when many families are suffering from lack of resources due to the pandemic and with this recent lockdown,” Del Valle added.

Private firms have long been extending help to those affected by the pandemic, but it seems they are moved to do even more.