BPI Says Full Integration with All Robinsons Bank Branches May Take Up to 18 Months

Integrating all branches of Robinsons Bank Corporation into the system of the Bank of the Philippine Islands may not be completed until next year. The process, expected to take 12 to 18 months, follows the merger between the Gokongwei Group and the Ayalas — which was officially sealed earlier this year.

“All the branches are still open and labeled [as] Robinsons Bank simply because the system is still a Robinsons Bank system,” BPI executive vice president Elfren Antonio Sarte said. “I think [BPI] will try to do this in phases.”

But Sarte, formerly the president and chief executive officer of Robinsons Bank, said all employees of RBC have already been taken in by BPI through the merger.

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BPI president and CEO Jose Teodoro "TG" Limcaoco earlier said converting RBC could take up to two years. Apart from refurbishing the branches and changing the systems, much work is needed to move all Robinsons Bank account holders to the Ayala-owned bank.

So far, the marriage between the two banks appears to be smooth-sailing. According to BPI, Robinsons Bank branches have been “very good at cross-selling” its consumer loan products.

“So, we’re confident they will contribute to the targets of BPI this year,” said Sarte.

Both the Gokongwei and Ayalas’ financial institutions are banking on their strengths as consumer and corporate banks—allowing them to expand the ecosystem.

“The strength that we have is our capability to touch the Gokongwei ecosystem. We are serving a lot of [their] financial needs or banking services,” Sarte said.

BPI expects its loan book to grow by 11 to 12 percent this year, with six percent attributed to its merger with RBC. The Ayala-owned bank, deemed to be the oldest in the country, earlier logged a record net income of P15.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024, up by almost 26 percent in the same period last year.

Robinsons Bank, helmed by Gokongwei Group chairman Lance Gokongwei, has 189 branches and branch-lite units across the country. Following the merger that took effect last January 1, the Gokongweis now own about six percent of BPI.

The Ayala and the Gokongwei groups are two of the most powerful conglomerates in the Philippines. The Ayalas are best known in the real estate, telecommunications, and automotive industries, among others; while the Gokongweis thrive in banking and financial services, air travel, and retail, to name a few.

Esquire Philippines is published by Summit Media, a company under the Gokongwei Group.