BPI at 175: Music, Dance, and a 2-Volume Book that Traces How the Bank’s Story Intersects with the Country’s Own History

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is celebrating 175 years this year. That means it is older than things like blue jeans, Coca-Cola, the Eiffel Tower, basketball, and yes, sliced bread. The bank has operated through the rise and fall of governments, wars, economic crises, and profound changes in how Filipinos live and do business.

On Monday (October 26), BPI marked the milestone with a special gala event at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Manila, bringing history into focus through an evening of music and dance featuring world-class Filipino talent. But the event’s highlight was the launch of a two-volume book documenting the bank’s journey—and its place in the country’s own story.

In his speech, BPI Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala raised a fundamental question: What allows an institution to remain relevant for 175 years?

“Financial strength and the ability to adapt certainly matter, but I believe something more fundamental is at work: the trust that people place in an institution, and the responsibility of keeping that trust,” he said.

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It’s a belief that takes on particular significance for a bank. As Zobel de Ayala pointed out, banks are entrusted with people’s hard-earned savings, provide capital for businesses to grow, and enable economic activity on which communities depend. Their responsibilities, he said, extend well beyond any single institution.

“For BPI, that long-term view means safeguarding trust across generations,” he said. “Each generation has inherited an institution shaped by those who came before, and each has had the same task: to preserve its credibility, to stay relevant to customers, strengthen its foundations, and prepare the bank for the future.”

Established on August 1, 1851, BPI was initially called the Banco Español-Filipino de Isabel II. It was the first bank in the Philippines and the oldest in Southeast Asia. Founded during Spanish colonial rule, it began operating decades before the Philippine Revolution, the declaration of independence, and the establishment of the modern Philippine Republic. Its history is therefore intertwined with the evolution of the country’s financial system and economy.

In 1855, the bank issued the country’s first paper money, the pesos fuertes, helping establish a formal monetary system in a colony where commerce had long relied on a mixture of currencies. This was highlighted during one of the production numbers during the event.

The bank also played a role in financing trade and the development of infrastructure. The bank’s name changed to Banco Español-Filipino in 1869, then to Bank of the Philippine Islands in 1912, reflecting the political and institutional transitions through which the country passed.

Some things that BPI endured throughout its history include the upheavals of the Philippine Revolution, the transition to American rule, World War II, postwar reconstruction, and subsequent economic and financial crises. More recently, digital banking has reshaped how customers access financial services, while changing expectations have pushed banks to broaden their offerings beyond traditional deposits and loans.

Zobel de Ayala acknowledged that BPI’s commitment to prudence, integrity, and sound judgment had been tested by “war and reconstruction, political and economic transitions, financial upheavals, and more recently, a global pandemic.” Through these challenges, he said, successive generations of leaders and employees had sustained the trust placed in the bank.

He also paid tribute to the leaders who steered the bank through the decades, including his own father, Jaime Zobel de Ayala, and Xavier P. Loinaz, who helped establish a foundation for growth and digital banking. Under succeeding leaders, whose video interview snippets were flashed throughout the evening, the bank expanded through acquisitions and developed services in areas including bancassurance, investment management, sustainable finance, and investment banking.

Yet Zobel de Ayala emphasized that BPI’s story was never just about the people at its helm.

“BPI’s story is bigger than its leaders,” he said. “It is also the story of the Philippines and of the many people and institutions whose efforts have shaped our country’s development.”

Over generations, he noted, the bank has worked alongside families building their futures, entrepreneurs starting businesses, companies creating opportunities, and institutions investing in the country’s growth. Its significance lies in what it has contributed alongside Filipinos working to move the country forward.

This is also what distinguishes the new book from a conventional corporate history.

In his speech, financial journalist Roel Landingin, who wrote the anniversary volume, explained that BPI’s earlier histories had been published for its 75th anniversary in 1928 and its 150th in 2001, among other milestones. For the 175th anniversary, however, the brief went beyond chronicling the bank’s achievements.

“JAZA and TG (Limcaoco) asked me to write not only about the bank, its people, and its accomplishments, but also about the economic milieu in which it operated,” Landingin said. The objective, he explained, was to show how the bank’s activities reflected broader economic realities—and how BPI, in turn, helped reshape the economic landscape at different points in the country’s past.

Working with an editorial support team, Landingin revisited the bank’s history through accounts of its partnerships with customers. The research drew on business biographies, corporate histories, case studies, and numerous interviews. Those partnerships, he said, helped drive tangible growth in important industries and in the communities that depended on them.

These stories form “the heart and soul” of the book. Rather than merely presenting 175 years as a procession of corporate milestones, the volumes seek to show how banking connects to the decisions of business owners, investors, families, and institutions—and how those decisions can have consequences beyond the balance sheet.

Landingin said he hopes the stories will inspire BPI officers and customers to make investment decisions that deliver not only private returns but also better outcomes for the economy and society.

“Our responsibility is not simply to preserve what has been built,” Zobel de Ayala said. “It is to make sure that the institution we pass on remains strong and trusted, relevant to the changing needs of consumers, attuned to technological change, and capable of contributing to the country’s future.”

He closed by thanking the generations of BPI leaders and employees, as well as the clients, partners, and communities that had placed their confidence in the institution.

“For 175 years, BPI has been part of the story of the Philippines,” he said. “Tonight we would like to share that story with you—a story of trust, a story of partnerships, and of the generations of Filipinos whose aspirations have shaped the institution that we know today.”