RCBC head named among ‘People of the Year 2024’

MANILA, Philippines — Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) president and CEO Eugene Acevedo made it to the ‘People of the Year 2024’ by renowned publication People Asia, making him the only Philippine banker in the list.

Dubbed as ‘The Consummate Banker’ in the People Asia story, Acevedo was recognized for championing the bank’s financial inclusion efforts and digital expansion. Under his leadership, RCBC emerged as the country’s fastest-growing banks, leapfrogging from eighth position in 2018 to fifth in 2022 in the list of the Philippines’ largest privately owned banks in terms of assets.

Acevedo emphasized the bank’s advocacy to make banking accessible and relevant to millions of Filipinos in underserved and unbanked segments of Philippine society, noting that RCBC strongly supports the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ vision of onboarding 70 percent of adult Filipinos and digitizing 50 percent of retail payments by the end of 2023.

He said the bank is also investing heavily in supporting micro, small and medium enterprises through its recently launched RCBC Boz mobile application. The latest digital solution from the fastest growing bank in the Philippines provides a wide array of services for budding entrepreneurs.

Acevedo saidthey are working tirelessly to make loans and credit accessible to entrepreneurs as Filipinos often face high entry barriers in traditional formal loaning and credit systems.

Acevedo further highlighted RCBC ATM Go, a platform of almost 6,000 mobile devices servicing 100 percent of all provinces nationwide. It acts as a handheld ATM that facilitates withdrawals, deposits, and bills payments, among many other banking services. RCBC ATM Go is part of RCBC’s Barangayan Banking, providing convenient and relevant digital solutions for communities that suffer limited digital penetration.

The bank has also embarked on a sustainability venture by not only focusing on financial access to marginalized groups, but by being the first Philippine bank to divest from coal toward cleaner energy alternatives.