Winners rationale

Positioned as the only onshore institution to provide private banking services of a quality comparable to its multinational peers overseas, BDO Private Bank remains the preferred domestic private bank in the Philippines and, in 2019, grew steadily in both profitability and AUM.

Achieving a close to 20% revenue growth YoY, and for the period under consideration, BDO Private Bank recorded yet another year of solid performance in 2019 with additional increases in HNW clients and AUM. By the end of October 2019, the combined AUM in bank and trust accounts surpassed PHP 445 billion, up 14% from end-October 2018, with HNW clients contributing 36% of the firm’s total revenue, which grew 12% YoY in the same period.

The stronger business performance was driven by the bank’s broadening service and investment offerings. As a leading domestic player, BDO went beyond investment options that were well-established among local clients and introduced alternative investment opportunities, such as US consumer-lending strategies and precious metal solutions. The bank has increased the exposure to offshore investments on their product shelf by adding ten offshore mutual funds managed by leading global providers, in the form of feeder funds.

The wholly-owned subsidiary also built on the franchise of the banking group and focused on serving the Philippines’ emerging wealthy, HNWIs, and UHNWIs segments with its broad range of offerings. BDO Private Bank has established eight customer lounges across the country, where private clients have access to their dedicated relationship managers.

The firm began offering family office services on an open-architecture product platform in 2018, supporting diversification across asset types, currencies, and sectors while enabling clients to gain offshore investment exposure.

In addition to the family office services platform, the private bank provides wealth structuring services, including a dedicated wealth and legal advisor, creation of discretionary portfolios (monitored daily), and financial planning that incorporates individuals’ unique circumstances and requirements. Through BDO’s Wealth Advisory & Trust Group, the bank meets client needs for accessing trust, legacy, life insurance, corporate engagement, in addition to will and testament services.

In line with the growing emphasis on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in banks worldwide, BDO has sought to achieve strategic resilience by incorporating sustainability principles in the bank’s decision making, relationships assessments and product manufacturing processes. The bank anchors its sustainable development strategy in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and upholds the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact.

Placing itself at the centre of the race to capitalise on the ‘Philippines opportunity’ as arguably the only domestic contestant providing private banking services on par with its multinational peers, BDO Private Bank is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Philippines Domestic for 2019.