Acevedo is new RCBC president, CEO
VETERAN BANKER Eugene S. Acevedo took the helm of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) this month following the retirement of the lender’s former chief.
In a statement, the Yuchengco-led bank said Mr. Acevedo has taken over as president and chief executive officer of RCBC effective last July 1, replacing Gil A. Buenaventura who stepped down from office to retire.
Mr. Acevedo served as RCBC’s deputy CEO for six months prior to his appointment.
He also held senior leadership positions in several financial institutions, with the latest one being chairman of CitySavings Bank, Inc., the thrift lending arm of UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc.
During his term in CitySavings, his team used technology to transform customer experience and produced the highest return on equity in the industry, delivering over a third of UnionBank’s earnings, the statement said.
Mr. Acevedo also held senior leadership positions in Citibank. He was also president and CEO of Philippine National Bank in 2010-2011.
RCBC said Mr. Acevedo — a technology advocate — is “expected to lead the bank’s digital transformation journey.”
RCBC added that the new chief executive has drawn the bank’s roadmap for growth to improve revenue and profitability by renewing focus on retail and small and medium enterprise (SME) businesses, implementing key organizational changes, redefining goals and rationalizing processes.
“Our big goal is to go back to being number five in terms of resources and profitability,” Mr. Acevedo was quoted as saying in the statement.
Mr. Acevedo told reporters following RCBC’s annual stockholders’ meeting late June that the bank eyes to increase the share of its retail and SME lending business to half of its total loan book by tapping the middle-income segment.
RCBC was the tenth-largest bank in the Philippines in asset terms at end-March with P537.64 billion, latest central bank data showed.
Mr. Buenaventura, who served the bank for the past three years, will continue to be a member of RCBC’s board of directors, the bank said.
The lender booked a P1.3-billion net income in the first quarter, up 15% from P1.1 billion recorded in the same period in 2018, driven by sustained core business growth.
RCBC shares closed at P26.35 apiece on Wednesday, down 25 centavos or 0.94% from the previous day’s finish. — K.A.N. Vidal
