Banking

With strong capitalisation and credit growth on the back of robust GDP figures and falling inflation, the Philippine banking sector now faces a year in which consolidation of gains and expansion into new demographics are on the agenda. The country continues to be well served by a variety of lenders, with universal and commercial banks supplemented by a wide array of thrift banks, rural and cooperative banks, and other microfinance institutions. Innovations in financial technology (fintech) are bringing banking to many more Filipinos via technological devices, while acting as a disruptor to traditional banking methods. There is increasing focus placed on smaller lenders as they gradually embrace fintech in a bid to extend their reach to unbanked and underbanked populations. This chapter also contains interviews with Benjamin E Diokno, Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Nestor Tan, President and CEO, BDO Unibank; and Cezar Consing, President, Bank of the Philippine Islands.