00:56.0
At its fastest pace in nearly a year.
01:00.1
As for Wall Street, futures are also pointing to a positive open ahead of earnings from mega-cap tech stocks.
01:06.5
Tesla will be firing the opening salvo after the bell Tuesday.
01:12.9
Here are some stocks to watch out for.
01:15.0
We're monitoring shares of Novartis after the company rates its full-year guidance following better-than-expected first-quarter results.
01:21.9
Shares of the Swiss drugmaker climbed 4% in midday trading.
01:25.7
Also in focus, associated British Foods which raised its outlook and interim dividend amid easing inflationary pressures.
01:34.0
Its stock last traded higher by 9%.
01:36.6
We're also keeping a close watch on shares of Hibbit and JD Sports.
01:40.9
The British sports fashion retail company announced plans to acquire Hibbit for over $1 billion.
01:46.7
That sent the stock of the American athletic fashion retailer soaring 19% in the pre-market.
01:53.4
While JD Sports shares are also up.
01:56.9
Meanwhile, Asian markets ended Tuesday trade mostly higher as Wall Street's rally overnight boosted tech stocks in the region.
02:05.1
The Hong Kong Hang Seng jumped nearly 2%.
02:07.4
While upbeat factory data added cheer to Japan and Australia's markets.
02:13.0
Here at home, Philippine shares joined the rally with main index climbing back above the 6,500 level.
02:21.3
If you'll notice, the rallies are quite shallow.
02:25.7
And there's a lack of volume.
02:29.5
So I wouldn't say that this rally is convincing at all.
02:34.1
So it's still a bit iffy right now whether this rally is going to continue or not.
02:40.2
I mean, of course, all of us are hoping that the market could do a significant rally and maybe climb back up to 6,700 or maybe even 6,800.
02:51.9
But I'm actually not too optimistic.
02:55.7
I'm not too optimistic about it.
02:57.3
I'm like maybe just I'm 50-50 about the situation right now.
03:03.1
There's also that threat that, you know, prices might just be consolidating right now before we continue to move lower.
03:12.3
A notable stock movements in the region.
03:14.5
Hong Kong's biggest IPO this year proved to be a bust as Chinese bubble team maker Chabai Dao plunged as much as 38% in its trading debut.
03:25.7
AMBS and ABS-CBN Inc. a deal to bring some of ABS-CBN's iconic shows as well as its evening newscast TV patrol to the free-to-air channel All TV.
03:39.0
Jackie Pascual has the details.
03:42.8
Advanced Media Broadcasting System or AMBS and ABS-CBN have formally signed a partnership that will bring iconic Filipino entertainment programs to more audiences via the free-to-air channel All TV.
03:55.3
Advanced Media Broadcasting System or AMBS and ABS-CBN have formally signed a partnership that will bring iconic Filipino entertainment programs to more audiences via the free-to-air channel All TV.
03:57.6
Nostalgic Kapamilya shows under Jeepney TV will now be aired on All TV.
04:03.0
Included in the partnership is the airing of TV Patrol, the flagship news program of ABS-CBN on All TV.
04:10.4
Very proud and honored to be celebrating today the start of what we hope is going to be a long, fruitful and good partnership between ABS and ABS-CBN.
04:12.0
Very proud and honored to be celebrating today the start of what we hope is going to be a long, fruitful and good partnership between ABS and ABS-CBN on All TV.
04:12.5
Very proud and honored to be celebrating today the start of what we hope is going to be a long, fruitful and good partnership between ABS and ABS-CBN on All TV.
04:12.6
Proud and honored to be celebrating today the start of what we hope is going to be a long, fruitful, and good partnership between AMBS and All TV as well as ABS-CBN.
04:29.5
We are very excited to bring the ABS-CBN brand of storytelling to the audiences of All TV.
04:34.8
It's a bit of a sentimental note for us today because we're bringing one of our longest running programs, TV Patrol, back to Channel 2.
04:41.4
I know there are some who feel some pain over our return to our former channel, a home that was once ours.
04:52.6
But in all humility, let's try and put all of the past behind us and embrace instead our mission to serve the Filipino, wherever they may be.
05:01.2
ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo Catigbak, COO Cory Vidanes, Group CFO Rick Tan, AMBS President Maribel Torrentino,
05:10.0
and CFO Cecil Bernal.
05:11.4
Bernardo signed the deal.
05:13.5
Also present were ABS-CBN Chairman Mark Lopez and Chief Partnership Officer Bobby Barrero.
05:18.9
The Villar Group, meanwhile, was represented by Chairman Manny Villar, Senator Mark Villar, Vista Land and Livescapes, Inc. President and CEO Paolo Villar,
05:29.2
and All Value Holdings Corp. President and CEO Camille Villar.
05:33.8
AMBS and ABS-CBN hope the partnership will bring more enjoyable, enriching, and informative content to Filipino.
05:41.5
We're very excited to welcome TV Patrol, which as you know is the longest running news show in the Philippines.
05:51.8
We're very honored to have them in All TV, as well as the rest of the content.
05:56.8
There's been a persistent clamor for Patrol's credible news and information to reach the audience it once had.
06:02.5
I hope that by working together with All TV, we are once again able to deliver this service to all our Kababayans.
06:09.1
All TV is available on FreeTV.
06:11.4
FreeTV, cable and satellite TV nationwide.
06:15.1
Jackie Pascual, ABS-CBN News.
06:19.9
In other corporate news, the Philippine Competition Commission begins an in-depth review of Ayala Pharma Ventures' proposed acquisition of St. Joseph Drugstore.
06:29.5
The PCC says its initial review pointed to potential competition concerns in relevant markets in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions.
06:37.3
Ayala Pharma Ventures, which operates Generica Drugstore,
06:41.4
is seeking a 49% stake in St. Joseph Drug.
06:45.2
And San Miguel is offering 20 billion pesos in bonds due 2034.
06:50.4
The bonds have a base offer of 15 billion pesos with an oversubscription of up to 5 billion.
06:56.5
These will be sourced from SMC's 50 billion peso denominated shelf-registered bonds.
07:03.4
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission asking Google and Apple to remove the Binance application from their Philippine app market.
07:11.4
The SEC chairperson says the public's continued access to Binance poses a threat to the fund security of investing Filipinos.
07:20.8
Binance was banned from operating in the country last March after the SEC found it was unauthorized to trade in securities in the Philippines.
07:29.8
Binance is touted as the largest cryptocurrency website in the world with an average daily trading volume of 65 billion dollars,
07:37.0
covering more than 400 cryptocurrencies.
07:42.3
And we're taking a quick break.
07:44.0
Up next, BPI President and CEO T.G. Limcauco joins us in the studio to talk about the bank's record first quarter performance.
08:01.8
BPI sustains its record earnings streak into the first quarter of the year as it posts a 25% jump in its first quarter bottom line.
08:11.2
The bank is confident it can stay at peak performance for the rest of the year.
08:16.7
BPI's President and CEO T.G. Limcauco joins us tonight to discuss how they plan to maintain this momentum.
08:23.2
T.G., welcome finally to the studio.
08:25.5
Thank you. Thank you, Sal.
08:26.5
I was watching your event this morning with the stockholders and I was thinking, T.G. is giving his sona.
08:38.9
Soba. State of the banking.
08:41.2
It was a very good year last year and it was a great first quarter for us.
08:49.3
And to me, what it tells us is that the bank is firing on all cylinders, but so is the economy.
08:54.9
I think what we're seeing is that the Filipino consumer is resilient and is confident.
09:01.3
Despite the high prices, despite the inflationary issues that we faced last year, the Filipino consumer is very confident.
09:10.0
I guess our record earnings are a result of the expansion of our loan book primarily towards the consumer sector.
09:17.2
We were able to shift our book to be more consumer-focused than ever before.
09:22.4
And obviously, the consumer product has a higher yield than the typical top corporate.
09:30.5
Some of the other banks are up as well, but not as much as you guys.
09:36.0
And you work in the same landscape with the same problems.
09:40.0
And you're able to pull that off.
09:40.8
I think it's our digitalization strategy.
09:43.2
We've always said that we're very focused on digitalization because what it does is it allows us to capture more customers more efficiently, basically cheaper.
09:53.1
We're able to service our customers better and at a lower cost.
09:57.1
And I think that's what's driving.
09:58.0
When you take a look at the way our revenues are growing and the way our expenses are growing, there's a 5 percentage point difference between the two.
10:07.4
And that matters a lot.
10:09.0
Especially when rates...
10:10.7
As they were last year and remaining high this year.
10:14.2
So, it's really panned out well for the bank.
10:17.7
And we're seeing everything work.
10:20.0
Even our fee income, we're getting more people investing in our, let's say, our UITFs and our mutual funds.
10:25.7
Our insurance business is doing really well.
10:28.7
Our private wealth business is doing excellent.
10:31.6
And we've started a new, I guess what we call a new channel called Agency Banking.
10:36.3
Where now we're trying to expand their customer base.
10:38.6
By attracting more and more customers.
10:41.7
And we're not asking them to come to the branches.
10:44.2
We're telling them to come to us through our app.
10:46.9
Or wherever we are.
10:48.2
We actually have a slogan called May BPI Dito.
10:50.2
And you can actually learn about our products at many of our, what we call our retail partners.
10:57.1
Ayala Malls, the Robinson's Retail Stores, Uncle John's, C.O.L. Gas, even Lazada.
11:04.1
You can learn and you can onboard our products through these different areas.
11:08.8
At the risk of revealing who is your favorite general in the bank, which one of these are you most excited about?
11:17.6
I think all across, I think we're very excited about the consumer sector.
11:21.2
And we, our consumer business, I guess, is along several lines.
11:25.5
The cards business is very strong.
11:27.9
While we look at the traditional mortgage and auto, auto has picked up significantly.
11:34.7
We are also looking at what we call our higher.
11:39.2
Segments, private wealth, preferred gold.
11:42.7
That's also been doing really well by us presenting a different way of marketing our products.
11:49.5
For example, in private wealth, we don't talk about investments and just typical banking.
11:53.6
We talk about a whole experience that banking is not just for the very wealthy.
12:00.9
It's not just about investing.
12:03.2
It's about living a life.
12:05.6
Follow-up question.
12:07.3
How do you explain?
12:08.6
Because the economy shows that inflation is very high.
12:12.2
People are crazy with their budgets.
12:14.5
They're trying to reduce cost.
12:16.0
And yet, on the consumer side, it's all going up.
12:18.7
Well, I think one of it is last year was driven a lot by revenge spending.
12:22.6
So that will moderate.
12:24.5
But when we think about inflation being high, I think you need to ask yourself, really?
12:32.0
I think food has been a little issue.
12:34.6
And I think I've always told my friends and the team.
12:38.6
We need to watch rice.
12:39.7
Rice is very key to the Filipino psyche.
12:42.4
And rice prices have been on the rise for the last year.
12:45.2
I think it's up 24%.
12:46.6
And it's a psyche, right?
12:49.4
When you see rice prices go up, you think everything's going up.
12:52.5
But when you look at the whole inflation basket, we're really only up 3.7%.
12:57.3
It might go a little higher, over 4% in the second quarter because of base effect.
13:02.0
But in general, it's the confidence that people have in the future.
13:06.2
And I think Filipino consumers,
13:08.6
are still confident.
13:09.8
We're seeing record billings in credit cards.
13:12.6
And while you might think, oh, credit cards, you need to be careful.
13:16.3
You need to see what kind of customers there are.
13:19.3
In credit cards, you've got three kinds of customers.
13:21.9
You've got the transactors, the people who buy and then just pay.
13:25.0
Those are the people that are not very profitable for the bank.
13:30.4
But they're the most responsible.
13:33.9
You have what they call the revolvers, the people who never pay it in full.
13:38.7
And just keep on paying maybe a minimum or more than the minimum.
13:41.9
Okay, now you're talking about me.
13:43.6
But they're not defaulting.
13:44.9
But they're not defaulting.
13:46.7
And then you need to watch what they're using it for.
13:49.0
I think you begin to worry if people are revolving on their groceries.
13:52.8
What are they using it for?
13:55.6
Travel, maybe appliances.
13:57.9
So those are what I consider investments.
14:00.6
Whether it's an investment for your future because it's an appliance that you need to have a better life.
14:05.2
Or it's an experience that you want to pay over time.
14:07.8
Now, if you begin.
14:08.6
If you begin revolving your groceries, I think you have a problem there.
14:12.9
So you need to watch out what people are buying.
14:15.8
And when we track that, we don't have an issue yet.
14:19.3
Aside from inflation and maybe those things that you're closely monitoring right now,
14:24.3
are there any challenges you're foreseeing for at least for the rest of the year?
14:30.9
I think you need to be very careful about some of the geopolitical issues.
14:36.1
That one might catch.
14:38.6
I don't want to catch you by surprise, but I'm hopeful, reasonability, reason prevails.
14:45.3
When you look at your loan book, you need to be not so aggressive because you need to realize that a bank is a business of trust.
14:56.0
And as I was telling Salve earlier, when a bank fails, it's the customers who get hurt.
15:03.2
And the owner gets hurt the least.
15:04.8
Whereas in any other business, the customers just walk away.
15:08.6
It's the owner who gets hurt.
15:09.4
So as a bank, you need to be very conservative.
15:13.4
And I think that's why you need to watch the kind of loans you give, the kind of policies you have.
15:19.4
And BPI's credit culture has kept a toll for a century and a half over.
15:25.4
And I think we will maintain that.
15:27.2
I think one of the conversations we've had is that covering the banking sector in the 1997 crisis,
15:33.5
and while looking now at the capital adequacy ratios and the provisions for loan losses,
15:38.6
they're so far from the 97 levels.
15:42.0
And you're saying, are they overdoing this?
15:44.3
But I guess that's your fortress balance sheet.
15:48.3
Kudos, kudos to our Banco Central from the 90s and onwards that's kept a very steady policy of we want strong capitalized banks.
15:56.4
We want well-run banks.
15:58.1
The level of supervision that the BSP gives us, maybe some bank presidents, including me, sometimes feel like, oh, it's overbearing.
16:04.3
But there is a reason for it.
16:06.3
And I think I cannot find...
16:08.6
A better professional force than the people at the BSP who know what they're doing.
16:12.3
And there will always be...
16:13.9
We will always have arguments and reason prevails.
16:17.6
But you need to understand their role as the BSP to safeguard the banking industry.
16:22.6
And strong capital, you can never, never fault that.
16:26.6
That's why I was asking you earlier, everybody's talking about Jamie Dimon saying there's going to be a big crash,
16:32.9
a huge recession in the U.S. and winter is coming.
16:36.4
Ray Dalio saying all of these things.
16:38.0
And I was asking you, do you think that there's something that will spark that there and will affect the Philippines also?
16:45.7
It's got to be geopolitical tension, something that's out of the blue.
16:49.3
Because when you look at the way the economy of the U.S. is going, it's fairly strong.
16:53.5
It's very resilient.
16:55.0
In fact, that's the reason why rates aren't coming off.
16:58.6
Because the demand is still there in the U.S. and they need to be very careful about that.
17:03.4
I think every central banker worth his salt.
17:08.0
It's got to be strict about his mandate for price stability.
17:11.7
And I think that's what they're doing at the Fed.
17:13.1
That's what they're doing here at the BSP.
17:15.1
And you have a very strong economy.
17:17.6
No reason to cut rates yet.
17:19.8
And you want to keep inflation at bay.
17:22.9
So I don't see a winter coming.
17:25.6
You mentioned about the app a while ago.
17:27.7
You've stuck it out with your app.
17:29.6
And also your online services through the web.
17:36.0
How do you view the process?
17:38.6
I think it's very important that we have the presence of digital banks in the country.
17:43.8
They haven't been profitable.
17:46.0
When we talk to the BSP, only two out of the six banks have been profitable.
17:49.8
They may not be a threat right now, but there has been around 9 million new accounts from these six digital banks.
18:00.9
Do you see them giving you a run for your money maybe in the future?
18:04.9
Not in the near future, to be honest.
18:06.9
And I think let's be very clear.
18:07.9
When you say a digital bank, you really mean a virtual bank.
18:09.9
It's a digital only.
18:11.9
Yeah, a digital only bank because I'd be the first to say BPI is a digital bank.
18:15.9
And I'm sure my colleagues, Union Bank, BDO, they're digital banks because you can access the services digitally.
18:21.9
The difference with them is that they're new and therefore they don't have legacy systems.
18:25.9
So it's fairly easy for them to launch an app.
18:29.9
I think also from a governance point of view, you can be a little more aggressive.
18:37.9
If you've got fewer customers.
18:39.9
When we take our systems down for an hour, all hell breaks loose.
18:45.9
Social media breaks loose.
18:49.9
When one of the digital banks takes their system down for a day, hardly a ripple.
18:54.9
But I'll give you that the digital banks have transformed the banking industry in the Philippines quite positively.
19:02.9
What they've done is they've made the legacy banks wake up.
19:05.9
They've forced the legacy banks to be more innovative.
19:09.9
They've forced the legacy banks to invest more in technology.
19:12.9
And I'm a big believer that banking is a technology business.
19:16.9
Banking of the old days of paper.
19:19.9
Banking is about moving data and keeping data.
19:24.9
Your money is not bills.
19:27.9
And that's what the digital banks have done.
19:29.9
They've raised the awareness.
19:31.9
They've raised financial inclusivity.
19:33.9
They've raised awareness of the people.
19:35.9
They've raised awareness of the public in terms of banking, savings, competition.
19:40.9
They've raised awareness in cyber security.
19:43.9
So all of this has taken all together quite well.
19:46.9
And I think I wish the digital banks well.
19:49.9
Because they've done a service for the country, for banking.
19:52.9
But it's an uphill climb.
19:55.9
You know, TJ, listening to you, I now see why some people I talk to say,
19:59.9
you are the best person to be at the helm of VBI now.
20:03.9
Because you're so technologically...
20:04.9
They're too kind.
20:05.9
They're too kind.
20:06.9
And you were in part of what made GCash what it is.
20:10.9
I'm a techie at heart.
20:13.9
And now that digital banks are a thing here,
20:16.9
how much money are you willing to put into digitalization moving forward?
20:20.9
Because it's still digital, right?
20:22.9
Well, I don't think you'll ever be 100% digital, Salve.
20:25.9
Because banking is a business of trust.
20:30.9
Because our safety is paramount.
20:34.9
And the good example I give is it's so easy for finance people like myself
20:40.9
to read on the web about a financial product and make a decision without talking to someone.
20:45.9
Because I'm trained in that.
20:47.9
But I can do the same about my health, right?
20:50.9
If I feel a symptom, I can go to Google, read all about it.
20:54.9
And then get sick the next day.
20:55.9
But I would never, never do it myself.
20:58.9
I would still go to a doctor.
21:00.9
So everyone out there who are not financers, you can read about everything.
21:03.9
But in the end, they'll want to come and talk to someone for expert.
21:06.9
Just that level of comfort, right?
21:09.9
So I think you'll always have physical presence.
21:12.9
You'll always need the human touch.
21:14.9
Especially as the services and the products get a little more complex.
21:18.9
At the bank, we are spending close to 14, 15 billion pesos a year on technology.
21:25.9
And about half a billion of that goes just into cybersecurity.
21:32.9
So I think we're the institution that spends the most on cybersecurity.
21:36.9
Because it's very key.
21:38.9
Robots, AI, quantum computing?
21:41.9
All very nice words, Salve.
21:44.9
I think robots will be in the branch of clean.
21:48.9
But AI is a big thing.
21:49.9
Not take deposits?
21:51.9
Well, in a way, our cash acceptance machines are robots, right?
21:56.9
They're not walking.
21:57.9
They're not very cute.
21:58.9
They have to walk.
21:59.9
Then they're cleaning.
22:01.9
But in the end, I think artificial intelligence will be a big game changer.
22:05.9
We're beginning to roll out some gen AI tools at the branch where we're using it so that
22:12.9
or we will use it.
22:13.9
It's in development.
22:14.9
It's about to launch in a couple of months where our people, our frontliners will have access to it
22:20.9
so that they can answer any question of the clients.
22:23.9
And the answer is consistent.
22:25.9
Because obviously, you know, the bank, we've got thousands of products.
22:30.9
We have so many processes, so many policies.
22:33.9
What we've done is we've ingested all that into a platform developed by open AI.
22:39.9
And it's our own little generative AI tool that anyone can ask from the branch in Cebuano, in Ilongo.
22:48.9
They can ask in their native tongue and it will be an answer.
22:51.9
And it will be available first to our frontliners.
22:54.9
Therefore, no more mistakes in the answer.
22:58.9
Consistency is more important.
23:00.9
And then hopefully, we make it available to all BPI employees.
23:03.9
This is a national ID question, I think.
23:05.9
Can you use the national ID when you're opening?
23:08.9
It should say yes.
23:09.9
It should say yes.
23:11.9
I can demonstrate.
23:15.9
We don't have time.
23:16.9
I have so many more questions you have to return and answer the rest.
23:17.9
Happy to do so, Sal and Ron.
23:19.9
I was going to ask about sustainability, financial inclusion.
23:22.9
And the stock price is now closed at?
23:27.9
So far from 15 per share.
23:31.9
Well, the bank's done really well.
23:33.9
The leadership team there, and I've only been there for three years, so it's really
23:38.9
It's the whole team that's been there.
23:39.9
And I always say, we just build on the success of the people who came before us.
23:43.9
And for us, the stock price is a great reflection of our performance.
23:48.9
And we owe it to our shareholders who continue to deliver.
23:51.9
We have a very clear dividend policy where we pay out 35 to 50 percent of our earnings
23:59.9
Two years ago, our dividend was 1 peso 80 per year.
24:04.9
Last year, it was 3.36.
24:07.9
And because earnings were up 25 percent, I think people expect the cash dividend to be
24:14.9
More money in Ron's bank account.
24:15.9
Thank you so much.
24:17.9
Thank you so much.
24:18.9
Thank you, Ron Salve.
24:19.9
That's your Business Outlook.
24:21.9
And I'm Salve Duplito.
24:22.9
The world tonight comes your way at the top of the next hour.
24:23.9
Keep it here on ANC.
