Search
Close this search box.

We are creating some awesome events for you. Kindly bear with us.

Philippines’ Department of Finance seeks assistance from WB-IFC for digital Overseas Filipino Bank

Philippines’ Department of Finance seeks assistance from WB-IFC for digital Overseas Filipino Bank

An announcement
from the Department
of Finance
(DOF) highlighted a meeting attended by representatives
from the DOF, the
World Bank
(WB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
to discuss the Philippines request for assistance in setting up the Overseas
Filipino Bank, which will serve as digital banking for overseas-based
Filipinos.  

Assistance from the IFC, a sister organisation of the WB, is
being requested by DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez III. This is to keep the
Overseas Filipino Bank (OFB) abreast with the rapid advances in technology and
clear the way for its partial privatization in the future.

Sec Dominguez explained during a recent meeting with WB and
IFC officials that he wants the OFB to start with a clean slate and leapfrog to
digital banking. This move would make it more effective and responsive in
catering to the financial needs of overseas-based Filipinos.

Since the OFB did not invest heavily in legacy systems,
which is actually becoming outdated, Sec Dominguez said that it can “leapfrog”
to new technologies instead and operate directly as a digital bank.

“It’s tabula rasa. No legacy mistakes here. But we don’t
have the people and the system. So we’re looking at your expertise to assist
here,” Sec Dominguez explained to the World Bank delegation led by Ms Victoria
Kwakwa, the WB Regional Vice-President for East Asia and the Pacific.

IFC’s Vice-President for Asia and the Pacific Ms Nena
Stoiljkovic, together with other IFC and World Bank officials, was also present
during the meeting.

In response to Sec Dominguez’s request, Ms Stoiljkovic
responded, “We’d love to take a look at that.”

She added that IFC is undertaking “similar types of
interventions in other countries.”

During President Duterte’s campaign for the 2016 elections,
he promised the creation of the OFB to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). The
DOF, under Sec Dominguez, helped fulfil the promise during the earlier part of 2018.
The bank’s coverage has expanded to include all overseas-based Filipinos, not
just overseas workers, to make it more inclusive.

One advantage of having a digital banking system for the
OFB, according to Sec Dominguez, is having less state interference in the
future. This is because the Land Bank of the Philippines, which has made the
OFB a subsidiary, will control less than 50% of it in the future.

“We just need funds for all these, and we’re looking for
assistance in this leapfrogging operation. This will allow us to partially
privatise it in the future. Even bring down the share of Land Bank to below 50%.
These are things we’re looking at,” Sec Dominguez said.

Moreover, according to Sec Dominguez, another advantage of
OFB is how it can be the ideal vehicle for the Philippines to “leapfrog” to the
digital economy. No need to set up physical branches around the globe as
digital technology applications will allow OFB to serve as many overseas-based
Filipinos as possible.

He added that the OFB could be transformed into a virtual
bank with information technology (IT) experts replacing bank tellers and
managers. These experts would have the knowledge to manage large amounts of
data and operate the OFB using cutting-edge technologies.

The projected initial beneficiaries of OFB are 10 million
OFWs. Having a digital Overseas Filipino Bank would radically transform the way
Filipinos buy, receive, sell and distribute goods and services.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Send this to a friend