Opening the conference, Foo Boon Ping, president and managing editor of TAB Global, welcomed delegates and set the tone for the day. He framed the discussions within a broader economic and geopolitical context, noting that while the Philippine economy is projected to grow within the government’s target range, it faces significant headwinds from volatile global tariffs, regional tensions and the impacts of climate change. Setting the tone for transformation “These are not abstract concerns,” he told the audience. “They shape the markets we operate in, they influence our investments, and they determine the opportunities we can pursue. The conditions we face call for both systemic and inclusive innovation, and for leadership that can turn discussion into real action.” Foo also outlined five domains of transformation driving the future of Philippine finance — open finance, digital identity and inclusive infrastructure; responsible artificial intelligence (AI) and governance; environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration; cyber resilience; and industry and regulatory collaboration and modernisation — and underscored their interconnection. “The decisions we make, the partnerships we forge and the leadership we show will decide whether we can transform uncertainty and volatility into progress,” he said. BAP’s five foundational focus areas In his welcome remarks, Jose Teodoro Limcaoco, president of the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) and president and CEO of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), set out the association’s five foundational focus areas. The first is the rationalisation of financial market infrastructure. Limcaoco pointed to recent restructuring of the Philippine Dealing System that sharpened focus on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation while transferring other functions to the Philippine Stock Exchange. This, he explained, aligns with global standards and positions the market to better harness advanced technology for smarter decision-making. The second is digital and cyber resilience. Rising threats from cybercrime and fraud demand a coordinated industry response, and Limcaoco described the passage of the Anti Financial Account Scamming Act as a milestone. This legislation criminalises phishing, mule accounts and other forms of digital fraud, with some offences treated as economic sabotage. The BAP’s three pillar strategy of education, interdiction and prosecution is supported by advanced analytics and AI to detect and neutralise threats quickly. Third is the drive for payments integration and efficiency. The consolidation of BancNet and the Philippine Clearing House Corporation under unified governance, he said, will reduce costs, mitigate operational risks and enable the rapid deployment of intelligent payment solutions. A seamless and reliable payments ecosystem is a prerequisite for a truly modern banking sector. The fourth focus is the embrace of digital innovation and transformation. Limcaoco observed that competition increasingly comes from nimble fintech firms. Rather than treating them as threats, he advocated partnerships that combine the trust and scale of banks with the agility and creativity of fintechs, particularly in using AI to personalise customer experiences and optimise operations. The fifth is legislative modernisation. Outdated laws and regulations, such as rigid bank secrecy provisions and inflexible lending mandates, he argued, constrain competitiveness and innovation. Modernising these frameworks would enable better risk management, more accurate credit assessment and a more competitive and transparent banking environment. Scaling artificial intelligence with governance and purpose The international keynote was delivered by David Hardoon, global head of AI enablement at Standard Chartered, who brought a pragmatic perspective to the role of AI in financial services. He reminded the audience that while technology changes how banks operate, it does not alter their fundamental purpose. AI should be deployed with a clear objective, whether to increase revenue, reduce costs or address specific market inefficiencies. Hardoon argued that governance frameworks and use cases must be developed together rather than in isolation. He urged banks to take a risk first approach, treating AI related risks as an extension of existing operational risks and applying systematic mitigation strategies. Institutional readiness, he cautioned, is not just about technology but also about culture and processes that can either enable or hinder adoption. He also underlined the need for scalability beyond proofs of concept, with projects designed from the outset for replication and expansion. Regulatory collaboration, he said, is essential, and experimental environments such as sandboxes should be used not only for testing technology but also for refining the policies that support safe and scalable innovation. Insights from the leadership dialogue Moderating the leadership dialogue, Foo guided the conversation through the practical application of AI, the integration of ESG principles, the drive for financial inclusion and the need for future ready regulation. Introducing the panel, he said, “We are here to explore how these big ideas — AI, sustainability, inclusion and modern regulation — translate into concrete strategies and measurable outcomes.” The conversation on AI in practice touched on the availability of open-source tools and privacy preserving techniques such as federated learning and differential privacy. Chia explained how these can help banks collaborate securely on AI driven projects like fraud detection. Hardoon stressed that governance must focus on explainability, bias mitigation and contextual risk assessment. Limcaoco described BPI’s incremental approach to adoption, starting with fraud prevention and internal knowledge management before moving into areas such as credit scoring and personalised offers. On ESG and financial inclusion, Limcaoco outlined BPI’s efforts to integrate sustainability into its operations, particularly through strategies that blend digital channels with an expanding agency banking network. Hardoon discussed how AI can help validate ESG claims and identify greenwashing. Chia Hock Lai, chairman, Responsible Fintech Institute and co-chairman of Digital Assets Association pointed to alternative data sources, crowdfunding platforms and tokenisation as enablers of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ access to sustainable finance. The discussion on future ready regulation acknowledged that ASEAN regulators can draw lessons from global frameworks such as the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA) while tailoring them to local priorities. Hardoon reiterated that regulatory sandboxes should focus on scalability and real-world deployment, not just technical feasibility. A shared vision for the future of Philippine banking The session closed with a shared understanding that the future of Philippine banking will depend on the industry’s ability to innovate boldly while protecting trust. Artificial intelligence, ESG integration, digital inclusion and legislative reform are not separate agendas but interconnected drivers of competitiveness and resilience. Reflecting on the discussions, Foo said, “The challenge is to ensure that innovation is matched by responsibility, and that ambition is anchored in governance. That is how we will build a smarter, bolder and more inclusive financial future.”
