The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Riza Lozada
The Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) board recently approved the appointment of President Edwin Bautista as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective January 1, 2018 to take the place of Justo Ortiz who has been the bank’s CEO since 1993.
Bautista has served as UBP President and Chief Operating Officer since January 1, 2016 has a track record in banking spanning more than 25 years.
Since joining UBP in 1997 as Senior Vice President, he has driven the growth of the bank’s Transaction Banking, Commercial Banking, Operations and Consumer Finance centers.
In 2006, he served as President of IBank, which was acquired by UnionBank, until its merger with the bank.
Prior to UnionBank, Bautista headed Citibank Philippine’s Global Transaction Services Group.
Bautista also worked with Procter & Gamble Philippines. He is a product of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program and De La Salle University, where he received his Mechanical Engineering degree while garnering the prestigious Bro. Gabriel Connon Award.
Under Bautista’s helm as President, UBP and its subsidiaries recorded its all-time high profit of P10.1 billion in 2016, and brought its earnings for the first half of 2017 to P4.4 billion, 11 percent higher than 2016.
These results validate the bank’s successful pivot to a full-service and consistently-profitable retail bank, a UBP statement said.
As UBP is undertaking its “digital transformation”, Bautista’s proven, game-changing skills are expected to come to the fore again.
Ortiz remains as Chairman of the Board. Ortiz, as co-author of UnionBank’s major strategic development plans, will continue to monitor successful execution of these plans.
As CEO for 24 years, Ortiz steered UnionBank to new heights, capitalizing on technology and carving out targeted markets.
Being a visionary with a constancy of purpose and passion, Ortiz has inculcated in all UnionBankers the bank’s goal to “Make Da Diff” (make the difference) for all stakeholders, by elevating lives and fulfilling dreams in communities they serve and thus build an organization of enduring greatness.