Bankers’ Night

It turned out to be a lovely evening last Friday, Jan. 10, as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) held its Annual Reception for the Banking Community at the historical Fort San Antonio Abad or Fuerte de San Antonio Abad that was built in 1584 as a small fortification in the old Malate district, serving as a rear protection for Manila and to guard the then Manila-Cavite route during the Spanish colonial period. Fort San Antonio Abad is now part of the BSP Complex.

A nearby fire and an incoming black cloud initially threatened to disrupt the early evening soiree at the BSP’s open air venue that was beautifully set up by well-known Chef Margarita Fores’ catering arm, Cibo di Marghi. Fortunately, while a few fire trucks were heard passing through President Quirino Avenue and Roxas Boulevard, the fire was distant enough not to disrupt the event.

Likewise, the threatening black rain cloud, which early bird  CTBC vice chairman William Go thought could dampen the event, also dispersed without a trace even as BSP Deputy Governor Berna Romulo-Puyat assured that preparations had been made to immediately distribute umbrellas should an unwanted downpour occur.

Well before the 6 p.m. call time,  DG Berna, as banking reporters call her, was all ready to welcome the early birds – including Monetary Board members Romeo Bernardo, who was flying solo without his wife Aminah Rasul-Bernardo, Jose “Jojo” Querubin and Walter Wassmer who were both accompanied by their wives.

Ever the gracious hostess, DG Berna introduced me to MBM Querubin and Wassmer who I was meeting for the first time. It was interesting to learn that MBM Querubin is, for all intents and purposes, a Central Bank and BSP “old-timer.” It turns out that his mother had actually worked at the old Central Bank head office when it was still located in Intramuros.

Querubin recalled that, as a child, he used to run around the old CB building in Intramuros which had beautiful wooden floors. The building’s interior was completely destroyed by a fire in 1979, leaving only the concrete shell was left standing, forcing the CB to abandon the building.

Querubin said that he also freely roamed the old CB/BSP Complex along Roxas Blvd, not knowing then that he would in the future continue to visit the facility when he himself became a banker as the president of the now defunct United Coconut Planters Bank. After leaving UCPB, Querubin migrated to Canada but somehow eventually found his way back to the Philippines and to the BSP as the seventh member of the BSP Monetary Board following the unexpected ghost employees scandal that caused the resignation of former MB members Anita Linda and Bruce Tolentino.

He did not get the memo

The ever punctual BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. was ready to start the party at 6 p.m., dapper in his grayish/black suit, accentuated by a red tie...but wait! Gov. Eli it seems did not get the memo: attendees were advised to come in business casual, meaning no tie required.

All the MB members – Bernardo, Querubin, Wassmer and latecomer Benjamin Diokno were all in their business suits sans tie. Former BSP governor Felipe Medalla, who was likewise flying solo without his wife Cynthia, was also relaxed without a tie, as were BPI president TG Limcaoco and Metrobank chairman Arthur Ty.

I initially thought that perhaps Ms. Marie had reminded Gov. Eli to wear his tie, because, after all, he is the BSP Governor, but upon personally checking with the missus, Ms. Marie revealed that she had, in fact, suggested the more relaxed business casual, knowing the humid weather of the metro. Ms. Marie had also suggested that more dinner tables and chairs were set up unlike previous receptions in the past with a cocktail table format. It was, thus, a relief to have more chairs to rest our weary feet after a couple of hours of frenzied schmoozing.

Of course, there were those who still opted to remain formal, among them former CB governor Jose Cuisia Jr., and former BSP governor and now SMIC chairman Amando Tetangco Jr. who wore a very nice pink tie. Philippine Stock Exchange chairman Jose Pardo, Ayala Corp. chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, China Bank chairman Hans Sy, Union Bank of the Philippines chairman Erramon “Montxu” Aboitiz, BDO president Nestor Tan, HSBC president Sandeep Uppal, PNB president Doy Casuela, PNB chairman Edgar Cua and Security Bank CEO Sanji Vohra all wore a tie.

SMIC vice chairperson Tessie Sy-Coson wore a business pantsuit, providing a very feminine corporate look, while US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson wore a very nice floral coat over a black skirt, while New Zealand Ambassador Catherine McIntosh opted for a dress. Gov. Tetangco’s ever-radiant wife Elma surprised us with her longer locks while Tess Espenilla, the widow of former BSP governor Nestor Espenilla was in all black and represented her husband in the traditional photo with all the former CB and BSP Governors.

However, I saw some attendees who initially arrived with a tie eventually relaxing and removing their ties. It was either that or the bright klieg lights used that night suddenly caused the humidity to rise. It seems that the new generation of BSP staff have learned the necessity of  better lighting to assure good-quality photos. An innovation also in this year’s annual reception was a video drone to get that aerial panoramic shots.

One noticeable absence at the annual reception was Finance Secretary Ralph Recto who had sent his regrets. However, the buzz among the schmoozers was that the Finance Secretary, who holds office at the BSP Complex, was probably avoiding the BSP and Finance reporters who wanted to get his reaction on a recent column item of Philippine Star business editor and opinion columnist Iris Gonzales on the move of the Department of Finance to tap the insurance fund of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., a move similar to that taken by the DOF with PhilHealth fund, but with possible serious repercussions for the banking system.

Other topics of conversation included the proposal by the incoming Trump administration to include cryptocurrency as part of the reserves of the US Federal Reserve, the sentencing of US President-elect Donald Trump (he was convicted over the weekend with a criminal felony charge, but with an “unconditional discharge,” and the Los Angeles wildfire.

Of course busily schmoozing were BizNewsAsia publisher Tony Lopez and InsiderPh’s Dax Lucas and Miguel Camus to ferret out the latest business news and be the first to report it.

A conversation with Ms. Marie

I, however, enjoyed a pleasant conversation with Gov. Eli’s sweetheart, Ms. Marie, who told me about their cancelled holiday trip to Batanes due to bad weather. Gov. Eli and Ms. Marie enjoy a very healthy and relaxing lifestyle with long treks wherever they visit. According to Ms. Marie they intend to visit more of the Philippines and see places that they were not able to since they had to spend most of their time in America in their younger years as Gov. Eli embarked on his banking career with the International Monetary Fund.

Gov. Eli, in fact, she admitted, had to leave the bankers’ reception by 8 p.m as he was scheduled to have an 8:30 p.m Zoom meeting with the Bank for International Settlements or BIS. Thus, by 8 p.m. the BSP Governor left the party, with his security retinue tightly guarding against ambush interviews that might delay the Governor from his 8:30 p.m appointment.

His departure, however, allowed the 501 Group to take the opportunity to get our annual group photo with our GOAT (greatest of all time) Say Tetangco. Missing from the traditional photo was Kler Batino of Bloomberg who decided to avoid the reception as she had caught the virus that seems to be spreading that causes a dry cough. However, we have officially adopted Cecille Yap, breaking news team leader for Southeast Asia of Bloomberg as part of the 501 Group.

Social media laggard that I am, I even had to ask RCBC executive vice president Lito Villanueva, who is also a Philippine Star columnist, to share some of the photos that he took as I was, as usual, not ready with my own phone camera.

By 9 p.m. it was time to go home (at least for me) and the request was made to also turn off the bright, but hot klieg lights. See you next year!