BPI supports 2021 AmCham Business Leadership Program with focus on financial literacy

Twenty-nine student leaders of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Business Leadership Program (BLP) soaked in the wisdom of BPI executives who highlighted financial literacy during the program’s virtual engagement with BPI via Zoom.

The BLP is a 10-day intensive business immersion program where the top students of the country are exposed to leading companies for talks, discussions, and mentorships to build their strengths as future business leaders. The candidates are put through a rigorous application process to get only the best of the best to join the program. This creates an environment where participants can learn from each other.

President and CEO TG Limcaoco opened the event by saying that the bank needs all the help it could get, especially from young people, as the bank heads towards becoming a sustainable and responsible banking leader.

“A bank is not just about taking deposits or making loans. A bank’s mission is really about promoting and educating people to improve their lives through financial well-being. A bank’s mission is to promote financial wellness in everybody. Giving back to our society is a part of our DNA and our culture,” he said.

As one of the speakers for this year’s session, Chief Human Resources Officer Gina Eala talked about how the bank builds careers that matter. She said the bank is there for its employees every step of the way in their professional and personal milestones, and that this enables them to fulfill the mission of BPI to look after the financial wellness of every Filipino.

“In BPI, we don’t just look at our work simply as work. We take our work, positions, and functions, with a deeper purpose which is really serving our country. As an essential industry, we have the duty and obligation to work towards the economic progress and development of the country. Throughout the pandemic, we continued working and we never stopped operating our branches to serve our customers who need our services,” Gina said.

Corporate Affairs Head and BPI Foundation Executive Director Owen Cammayo talked about our financial wellness advocacy by highlighting BPI Foundation’s financial literacy initiatives and programs, including our very first mobile app game called Breakthrough.

“Financial wellness is key to build a financially inclusive Philippines. A good first step is to know and have better understanding of basic financial concepts,” he said.

Towards the end of the program, former President and CEO Cezar “Bong” Consing was given a token of appreciation for his consistent support and involvement in the BLP, with this year being his 9th year.

“The world is becoming increasingly digitalized and with this, you have two industries to choose from: finance or banking and telecommunications,” he told them.

“The digitalization of these two industries will do more to affect the digitalization of the world than any industry out there. Banks are inherently levered companies. The decisions you make as a banker will have extraordinary effects around you. How you allocate resources will determine what type of country we have. Allocate resources to dirty resources and you’ll have a dirty world. Allocate resources to renewable energy, you’ll have a different world.”

He also encouraged the young leaders to consider BPI in their future careers. “I think one real measure of an institution is what it does, how it performs, and how it handles its customers at a time of great stress. The COVID pandemic is a time of great stress and I believe BPI has stood out in this time of great crisis,” Bong added.