The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Jerry Maglunog
Banco de Oro Unibank (BDO) President and Chief Executive Officer Nestor Tan is expected to assume the presidency of the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) by March 21 during a meeting of the biggest group in the local banking industry.
The 58-year-old Tan is the current first vice president of the BAP and this position makes him literally next in line with his younger sibling, Lorenzo. “If you follow tradition, first vice president succeeds. Nestor is current FVP,” one source explained.
The source said Tan’s massive exposure to international banking serves as his ticket to claim the highest position in the world of universal banking in the Philippines. No other details about the change of leadership of BAP were provided by the source.
At present, the association is led by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Tan.
Based on his track record, the veteran banker has a solid experience in global banking, having worked at the prestigious Barclays in the United Kingdom for many years before handling his present position at BDO. In 1997, he was named president and CEO of BDO, a position he holds until now.
His distinguished banking career includes a 15-year international experience with the Mellon Bank (now Bank of New York-Mellon) in Pittsburgh, PA; the Bankers Trust Company (now Deutsche Bank) in New York.
He is known in the banking industry as a humble, down-to-earth personality who goes along even with the lowest ranking staff of the bank. One BDO employee, who identified himself as Peter, said their president and CEO always advises utility personnel at the bank to strive hard so that they will never stay long in the utility division.
“He is fond of calling us by first name. He has no barrier, he drinks Tanduay; he sits beside a janitor when there is a get-together in the office,” the source said.
Tan is also known attentive as he replies to texts even late at night or outside the country. His contributions in the growth story of BDO Unibank over the years have been recognized by various institutions.
Among the citations he received include Asia’s Best CEO Award from Corporate Governance Asia, CEO Excel Award from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and the KPMG Executive Leadership Team of the Year from Asia CEO Awards.
The top banker is also in the list of the BIR’s large taxpayers unit in 2013 for paying more than P60 million in taxes that year.
The new BAP president was instrumental for bringing the bank to number one both in the number of depositors and assets in 2008. Since that year, BDO’s assets rose to around P1.9 trillion or about 1/5 of average Philippine gross domestic product.