Bank of the Philippine Islands (Spanish: Banco de las Islas Filipinas, commonly known as BPI; PSE: BPI) is the oldest bank in the Philippines still in operation and is the country's third largest bank in terms of assets, the country's largest bank in terms of market capitalization, and the country's most profitable bank. It is owned by the Ayala Corporation - the largest conglomerate in the Philippines, and is based in Makati's Central Business District, on the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas.
BPI is also the oldest bank in Southeast Asia and has a long and distinguished history that spans over a century. It has either influenced or has been influenced by many nations, including parts of the former Spanish Empire, especially Mexico, and the United States. While it is considered by many as an old institution, BPI is trying to promote itself as a dynamic institution that caters to its various clients, which hail from various sectors of Philippine society.
BPI also pioneered rural banking in the Philippines, as its countryside banking operations preceded that of many other banks' rural banking operations by many years. Today, it maintains a large rural branch network, with some branches dating back to the Spanish or American colonial periods. Its branch network of 831 branches is by far the largest branch network of any bank in the Philippines.
The bank has received several awards from various financial magazines, such as Euromoney the Far Eastern Economic Review, The Banker, Euromoney, Finance Asia, and Global Finance . Its most recent award was from Asiamoney. In April 2010, which the bank was awarded as the Philippines' Strongest Bank. In 2009, the bank bags 10 awards as the Best Domestic Bank; Best Local Cash Management Bank in the Philippines as voted by Small-Sized Corporations; Best Local Cash Management Bank in the Philippines as voted by Medium-Sized Corporations; Best Local Cash Management Bank in the Philippines as voted by Large-Sized Corporations; Best Domestic Provider of FX Services in the Philippines as voted by Corporates; Best Domestic FX Provider of FX Prime Broking Services in the Philippines as voted by Corporates; Best Domestic FX Provider of Single-Bank Electronic Trading Platform.
Read more about Bank Of The Philippine Islands: History, Subsidiaries and Affiliates, Ownership, Competition, Awards, Firsts
Famous quotes containing the words bank of, bank and/or islands:
“A self is, by its very essence, a being with a past. One must look lengthwise backwards in the stream of time in order to see the self, or its shadow, now moving with the stream, now eddying in the currents from bank to bank of its channel, and now strenuously straining onwards in the pursuit of its chosen good.”
—Josiah Royce (1855–1916)
“The prairies were dust. Day after day, summer after summer, the scorching winds blew the dust and the sun was brassy in a yellow sky. Crop after crop failed. Again and again the barren land must be mortgaged for taxes and food and next year’s seed. The agony of hope ended when there was not harvest and no more credit, no money to pay interest and taxes; the banker took the land. Then the bank failed.”
—Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968)
“Consider the islands bearing the names of all the saints, bristling with forts like chestnut-burs, or Echinidæ, yet the police will not let a couple of Irishmen have a private sparring- match on one of them, as it is a government monopoly; all the great seaports are in a boxing attitude, and you must sail prudently between two tiers of stony knuckles before you come to feel the warmth of their breasts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)