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BANK of the Philippine Islands (BPI) on Wednesday launched its virtual financial coach (VFC) service under NEXT by BPI Preferred.

“The main goal is really to prepare our next generation to manage their finances better, to empower them to do so… We believe that the next generation have the capability to be the emerging affluent and we have to prepare them to do that,” BPI Consumer Banking Head Maria Cristina L. Go told reporters at the launch event.

The VFC service aims to make financial consultations more convenient and is part of a series of virtual services the bank is rolling out.

“Convenience is one of the things that really drove us in thinking about the virtual financial coach. Fortunately, we have been piloting the theme of virtual stores, which we started late last 2022, and now we’re going full steam ahead. Virtual financial coaches is one of the units within the virtual stores. We have virtual loan advisors, virtual relationship managers, and virtual sales assistants,” she said.

Ms. Go said the bank currently has four VFCs.

The bank will also launch more offerings under NEXT by BPI Preferred in the coming months, including investment, loan, and deposit products, she added.

These will help BPI Wealth, the bank’s wealth management arm, grow its customer base, which is currently close to 15 million, Ms. Go said.

BPI’s net income grew by 29.4% year on year to a record P17.4 billion in the third quarter.

This brought its nine-month net earnings to P48 billion, 24.3% higher year on year, driven by robust revenue growth and sustained positive operating leverage.

BPI shares dropped by P3.80 or 2.64% to close at P140 each on Thursday. — A.M.C. Sy

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