Banco Español-Filipino De Isabel II
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The Bank of the Philippine Islands ('';'' '','' commonly known as BPI; ) is a
universal bank A universal bank is a type of bank which participates in many kinds of banking activities and is both a commercial bank and an investment bank as well as providing other financial services such as insurance. These are also called full-service ...
in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. It is the oldest
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
in both the Philippines and
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. It is the fourth largest bank in terms of assets, the second largest bank in terms of market capitalization, and one of the most profitable banks in the Philippines. The bank has a network of over 900 branches in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Europe, and more than 3,000 ATMs and CDMs (cash deposit machines). BPI was founded during the
Spanish colonial era of the Philippines Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine ** Spanish history ** Spanish cultur ...
as El Banco Español Filipino de Isabel II. It provided credit to the National Treasury and printed and issued the
Philippine peso fuerte The Philippine peso fuerte (Spanish "Strong Peso" sign: PF) was the first paper currency of the Philippines and the Spanish East Indies during the later Spanish colonial period. It co-circulated with other Spanish silver and gold coins and was ...
, a precursor to today's Philippine peso.


History


Colonial period

BPI was established on August 1, 1851, as the "El Banco Español Filipino de Isabel II" (), named after the
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
of
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Isabella II Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...
, the daughter of King
Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...
. It was the first government bank in the Philippines and the third Philippine bank during the Spanish era. The first managing directors of Banco Español-Filipino were Jose Maria Tuason and Fernando Aguirre. They took turns serving as managing director every year. One of the founders and primary shareholders at that time was José Joaquín de Ynchausti of Ynchausti y Cía, a prominent Philippine multi-national conglomerate who also founded Tanduay Distillery and built the Puente Colgante. José was the managing director of the bank from 1868 to 1873 and 1876 to 1884. The royal decree establishing the Banco Español-Filipino also gave it the power to print Philippine currency, the first time the Philippine peso was printed in the country; before 1851, a multitude of currencies were used, most notably the
Mexican peso The Mexican peso (Currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, currency code: MXN; also abbreviated Mex$ to distinguish it from peso, other peso-denominated currencies; referred to as the peso, Mexican peso, or colloquially varo) is the official curre ...
. They were originally called
Philippine peso fuerte The Philippine peso fuerte (Spanish "Strong Peso" sign: PF) was the first paper currency of the Philippines and the Spanish East Indies during the later Spanish colonial period. It co-circulated with other Spanish silver and gold coins and was ...
(PF), or "strong pesos". First printed on May 1, 1852, they were redeemable at face value for gold or silver Mexican coins just to circulate the first Philippine currency. The first deposit with the bank was also done on that day by a man named Fulgencio Barrera with silver and gold. Three days later, a Chinese man named Tadian became the first borrowing client of the bank after the bank discounted to him an initial and foremost
promissory note A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...
amounting to ten thousand pesos fuertes. On September 3, 1869, following a
revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
which overthrew Isabella II, the name was changed to Banco Español-Filipino. In January 1892, the bank moved from the Royal Custom House in
Intramuros Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old hist ...
to the new business district of
Binondo Binondo (; ) is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Manila, Quiapo, Santa Cruz, Manila, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas, Manila, San Nicolas and Tondo, Manila, Tondo. ...
after it found out that Intramuros was becoming "economically inactive". It moved to 4 Plaza Cervantes corner Juan Luna Street which was at that time a prime property owned by the Dominican friars. The first branch of Banco Español-Filipino outside Manila was opened in
Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...
on March 15, 1897. However, the idea to set up branches outside Manila was formulated as far back as the 1850s, with the first branch planned to be opened in
Bacolor Bacolor, officially the Municipality of Bacolor (; ), is a municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,066 people. Bacolor is the birthplace of Father Anselmo Jorge de Fajardo ...
, the capital of
Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...
at the time. However, by then,
Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...
and other provinces in
Panay Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and a total population of 4,542,926, as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City of Il ...
had become more productive than Pampanga in the
sugar industry The sugar industry subsumes the production, Sugar refinery, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, about 80% of sugar is extracted from sugar cane, grown predominantly in the tropics, and 20% from sugar beet, ...
, hence the move to open the first branch in Iloilo. Following the cession of the Philippines to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
with the signing of the
1898 Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain, commonly known as the Treaty of Paris of 1898, was signed by Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, and marked the end of the Spanish–American Wa ...
, the bank changed from a Spanish institution to a Philippine one. On January 1, 1912, a decision by the shareholders of Banco Español-Filipino changed the name to the present Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) or ''Banco de las Islas Filipinas'' in Spanish. The basis for the name change was Act No. 1790, passed on October 12, 1907, which permitted the bank to change its name. The bank was also fully privatised during the American colonial period. Following
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, BPI was actively involved in the post-war reconstruction of the Philippines. In 1949, with the establishment of the Central Bank of the Philippines (now the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on January 3, 1949, and then re-established on July 3, 1993 pursuant to the provision of Re ...
), BPI completely lost the right to issue Philippine pesos, a right it had since the Spanish colonial era and during the American colonial period – up until 1934.


Contemporary history

On December 31, 1969,
Ayala Corporation Ayala Corporation (, formerly ''Ayala y Compañía''; ) is the publicly listed holding company for the diversified interests of the Ayala Group. Founded in the Philippines by Domingo Róxas and Antonio de Ayala during Spanish colonial rule, ...
, which had been affiliated with BPI since its establishment in 1851, became the dominant shareholder of BPI, and eventually made BPI into the flagship of Ayala's financial entities. Starting in the 1970s, BPI has been involved with many mergers and acquisitions. The first merger occurred in 1974 with BPI's acquisition of the People's Bank and Trust Company. Major notable acquisitions include Commercial Bank and Trust Company in 1981, CityTrust Banking Corporation in 1996, Far East Bank and Trust Company in 2000, Prudential Bank in 2005, BPI's subsidiary BPI Family Savings Bank in early-2022 and Robinsons Bank in early-2024. In 1982, BPI became a universal bank and inaugurated its new headquarters building at the intersection of
Ayala Avenue Ayala Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Makati, the Philippines. It is one of the busiest roads in Metro Manila, crossing through the heart of the Makati Central Business District. Because of the many businesses along the avenue, Ayala Avenue i ...
and
Paseo de Roxas Paseo de Roxas is a prime commercial artery in the Makati Central Business District of Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a two- to six-lane avenue that cuts through the middle of the business district, connecting San Lorenzo Village in the west t ...
in the Ayala-developed
Makati Central Business District The Makati Central Business District (Makati CBD) is a privately-owned financial and central business district in the Philippines located in the heart of Makati in Metro Manila. It is politically and administratively known as "Central Cluster ...
. In 2000, it became the Philippines' first bank assurance firm, being the first Philippine bank to offer insurance services after acquiring the insurance companies of the Ayala Corporation, the parent company of BPI. Within that year, BPI also founded the BPI Direct Savings Bank, an Internet bank. On February 14, 1986, BPI established its own interbank network,
Expressnet Expressnet is an interbank network connecting the Automatic teller machine, ATM networks of seven major banks in the Philippines. It has the second-largest number of ATMs (largely due to the vast nationwide presence of Bank of the Philippine Is ...
. In October 2015, BPI launched their "Make the Best Things Happen" campaign. In the second quarter of 2019, BPI began constructing its new headquarters in Makati, replacing the old headquarters building on its place. BPI has tapped
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill SOM, an initialism of its original name Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, is a Chicago-based architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings. In 1939, they were joined by engineer ...
for its design. It relocated its head offices from the old building to nearby locations, including the Insular Life Building, Ayala North Exchange, Makati Stock Exchange building, and BPI Buendia Center in Makati, while other offices moved to Vertis North in Quezon City and in Alabang, Muntinlupa. Its head offices were subsequently relocated to the adjacent Insular Life Building, Ayala North Exchange, Makati Stock Exchange building, and BPI Buendia Center in Makati, while other offices moved to
Vertis North Vertis North is a Transit-oriented development, transit oriented mixed-use development in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Rising along key major roads such as EDSA, North Avenue (Quezon City), North Avenue, Mindanao Avenue, and Senator M ...
in
Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...
and to
Alabang Alabang () is a barangay in Muntinlupa, Philippines. At one time, the area was a farming district and has since grown from a village to a major commercial center, including Filinvest City, Madrigal Business Park, and a transportation hub. It ...
,
Muntinlupa Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...
. BPI launched its new logo in August 2019 and its ''Do More'' tagline in August 2023. In June 2023, BPI completed the transfer of its various head office units to Ayala Triangle Gardens Tower 2, reducing its headquarters to two locations: the tower and the BPI Buendia Center.


2017 system glitch

On the morning of June 7, 2017, a data processing glitch affected BPI clients making their account balances incorrect. Some clients had either a negative balance or an increased amount of money in their account. The error was fixed in the evening, but the next day, June 8, BPI suspended electronic services because incorrect balances occurred again. The services were restored once more on the evening of the same day upon fixing the defect.


BanKo

BPI Direct BanKo, Inc., A Savings Bank (operating as BPI BanKo) is a wholly owned subsidiary of BPI established through the merging of BPI Direct Savings Bank (the first internet-based bank in the country, allowing expatriate Filipinos and overseas workers in countries like
Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
or
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
to access and manage their bank accounts at any time) and the BPI Globe Banko. BPI Globe BanKo's predecessor BPI Direct Savings Bank, was incorporated and registered with the
Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
on September 26, 1986, primarily as a subsidiary meant to engage in the general business of savings and mortgage banking. In 2000, BPI Direct underwent a major image change as it became the first Philippine bank designed around the telephone and online banking channels. Two years later, BPI Direct realigned its business strategy towards the Overseas Filipino community. As the result of BPI Direct and with BPI Globe BanKo (another thrift bank unit of BPI) merging in December 2016 forming BPI Direct BanKO Inc. (BPI BanKo). BPI's consolidation of its two subsidiaries forming BPI Direct BanKo, is its answer to the growing microfinance-small and medium enterprise finance industry sector in the Philippines, competing directly with notable SME/Microfinance institution in the country - ASA Philippines,
Card Bank The Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Inc. (better known as Card Bank, Inc.) is a micro-finance oriented rural bank in the Philippines established in 1997, and is currently regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Its main offic ...
(CardBank and Card SME Bank), and LifeBank MFI.


Subsidiaries and partners

BPI is divided into the following subsidiaries and affiliates: *BPI Asset Management and Trust Corporation *BPI Capital Corp. *BPI Computer Systems Corp. * BPI Family Savings Bank (
Savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks ha ...
of BPI) * BPI BanKo (merged BPI Direct Savings Bank and BPI Globe BanKO Savings Bank) (Small and medium enterprise and microfinance oriented rural-savings bank of BPI) *BPI Forex Corp. *
BPI Foundation, Inc. BPI may refer to: Banks *Banca Popolare Italiana, an Italian bank merged into Banco Popolare *Banco Português de Investimento, a Portuguese bank *Bank of the Philippine Islands, the oldest bank in the Philippines *Bpifrance, a French bank Busines ...
*BPI International Finance Ltd. *BPI Investment Management. Inc. *BPI Leasing Corp. *BPI Operations Mgt. Corp. *BPI Rental Corp. * BPI Securities Corp. * BPI/MS Insurance Corp. *Legazpi Savings Bank On September 30, 2022, BPI and Robinsons Bank disclosed their merger expected to complete by December 31, 2023, with BPI as the surviving entity.


Ownership

* PCD Nominee Corporation: 34.8533% *
Ayala Corporation Ayala Corporation (, formerly ''Ayala y Compañía''; ) is the publicly listed holding company for the diversified interests of the Ayala Group. Founded in the Philippines by Domingo Róxas and Antonio de Ayala during Spanish colonial rule, ...
: 28.7396% * Liontide Holdings1: 15.6146% *
Robinsons Retail Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., trading as RRHI, is one of the largest multi-format retailers in the Philippines. Founded by Filipino industrialist John L. Gokongwei, Jr. in 1980, Robinsons Retail started as Robinsons Department Store in ...
Holdings, Inc.: 5.4557% * JG Summit Capital Services Corp.: 3.5735% *
Archdiocese of Manila In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
2: 6.7771% * Michigan Holdings: 1.9156% While the Philippine Central Depository is listed a major shareholder, it is more of a trustee-nominee for all shares lodged in the PCD system rather than a single owner/shareholder. 1 Includes
DBS Bank DBS Bank Limited is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at the Marina Bay Financial Centre in the Marina Bay district of Singapore. The bank was previously known as The Development Bank of Si ...
.
2 Voting powers vested ''
ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...
'' in the
Archbishop of Manila The Archdiocese of Manila (; ; ) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church, Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Catholic Church in the Philippines, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, ...
.


See also

*
Ayala Corporation Ayala Corporation (, formerly ''Ayala y Compañía''; ) is the publicly listed holding company for the diversified interests of the Ayala Group. Founded in the Philippines by Domingo Róxas and Antonio de Ayala during Spanish colonial rule, ...
* BancNet (the BPI ATM network) *
List of Philippine companies The Philippines is a sovereign state, sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. It is a founding member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pa ...
*
List of banks in the Philippines The Philippines has a comprehensive banking system encompassing various types of banks, from large universal banks to small rural banks and even non-banks. As of September 30, 2022, there were 45 universal and commercial banks, 44 savings banks, ...


References


External links

* *
BPI Exchange Rate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank Of The Philippine Islands Banks of the Philippines Companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange Companies based in Makati Spanish colonial infrastructure in the Philippines Banks established in 1851 1851 establishments in the Philippines Ayala Corporation subsidiaries Companies in the PSE Composite Index