AS a result of regulatory changes and in light of the impending Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) economic integration next year, Philippine banks must prepare itself for a more challenging banking industry, Banking Association of the Philippines (BAP) President Lorenzo V. Tan said recently.
At the Bankers Institute of the Philippines’s fourth general membership meeting in Makati City, Tan, also the president and CEO of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), said he sees the global financial market to be more competitive next year, adding that a lot of factors would create a big impact not only on the global financial market, but also on the local financial market.
“The global economy’s interconnectedness, Basel 3, [the] Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s regulations, the Asean Economic Community and our country’s investment-grade ratings are key influencers of the [global] banks’ direction from 2015 and beyond, which will make the global financial market more competitive,” Tan said.
The BAP chief also said banks should prepare for the banking of the future, with all the innovations that will be in place by then.
He added that the BAP’s current projects prove its commitment to intensify the local banking industry’s role in the country’s growth.