Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation

2021

Top Community Centric Companies in Asia

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation

Top Community Centric Companies in Asia

2021

about Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation

Banking On Inclusivity.

From large to little, RCBC serves all. 

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) was established in 1960 as a development bank and became a universal bank in 1989. A member of the Yuchengco Group of Companies and listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange. As of 1Q2021, it ranks as the sixth largest bank in the Philippines with USD16.8Billion in total assets. ESG rating was upgraded to “AA” by MSCI, indicating sound business organization and risk mitigation. 

RCBC aligns its business strategy to support the development needs of society, as articulated in the UN SDGs and the Paris Agreement. The Bank promotes awareness of environmental and social issues within the organization, with its clients and the communities they serve. RCBC believes that good sustainable practices are a key pillar of responsible lending which can have a meaningful impact on the environment and communities.

CSR activities are in collaboration with the Alfonso Yuchengco Foundation whose mission is to uplift Filipinos through rehabilitating calamity-stricken areas, supporting sustainable livelihoods and granting educational scholarships.

Under its Sustainable Finance Framework, the Eligible Sustainable Portfolio accounted for 10% of total loan portfolio as of end-December 2020, higher than the 8% share of coal exposures.  The portfolio contributes to 10 out of the 17 UN SDGs.  

In 2009, the Bank ventured into the microfinance business through Rizal MicroBank (RMB, the thrift bank subsidiary). In June 2020, RMB piloted a program “Bangko ng Bayan” which enabled more than 350 new Filipinos to have access to the formal banking industry. Partnered with 45 community-based entrepreneurs whose businesses catered to the underserved and small businesses reaching far-flung provinces. More than Php1.7M worth of transactions were processed within five months from the pilot run.

Cash flow support was provided to SMEs through loan grants for essential businesses, payment moratoriums, reduced interest rates, risk assessment packages under the Bank’s COVID-19 Assistance and Recovery Enhancement (CARE) Program appropriate to the needs of affected businesses. In 1Q2021, the SME Group portfolio grew by 11% to Php81B from Php73B in 2019.

The pandemic underscored the relevance of financial inclusion through these digital innovations: 

  1. DiskarTech is the country’s first financial inclusion accelerator virtual bank.  Two months into the quarantine period, DiskarTech recorded over 2 million mobile app downloads, making possible the disbursement of the government’s emergency cash subsidy in at least eight regions nationwide.  Digital transactions increased by 167% in terms of customer enrolment since the government imposed community lockdown in March 2020. Utilization rate was up by 1,300% compared with pre-quarantine levels in 2020. Diskartech is also the country’s first and only Taglish inclusion super app which took banking to the masses with over 3 million app downloads in three months from launch.
  2. Go Digital is an online retail mobile app that sends and receives cash through several remittance partners accessible to millions of Filipinos in far-flung areas.
  3. ATM Go is the country’s first neighborhood handheld ATM service through microfinance institutions nationwide.  This facilitated the distribution of the Social Amelioration Program to eligible families affected by the lockdown during the pandemic. 1,800 ATM Go units were rolled out to payout partners in the far flung provinces to aid in the distribution of the emergency cash subsidy. The cash disbursement reached over 350,000 Filipino households among the poor and vulnerable sectors. This gave RCBC the opportunity to contribute in the national effort and celebrate the bayanihan spirit’ (a spirit of civic unity among Filipinos).

By end-December 2020, RCBC’s digital platforms disbursed USD258Million worth in cash subsidy to more than 3.3 million households or approximately 16.6 million individuals in 72 out of 81 provinces nationwide.

Best ESG practices:   i) “The Asset Benchmarking Award for Excellence in ESG – Titanium Award” by The Asset 2019 ESG Corporate Awards; in 2020 ii) the “Philippines Domestic Initiative of the Year for Sustainable Financing” by the Asian Banking & Finance Awards; and iii) “The Best Green Bank in the Philippines” by the Global Banking & Finance Review.

“Inclusivity for all, especially in the areas of microfinance in a country of lesser means can be lifechanging. By aligning its business with larger developmental goals, Rizal Commercial Bank is playing the part of both developmental and economic partner.”

Shanggari Balakrishnan, Chief Executive Officer, MORS Group


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