CTBC Bank (Philippines) Corp., a subsidiary of the largest and most awarded private commercial bank in Taiwan, recently announced the appointment of Oliver D. Jimeno as its new president and chief executive officer, effective December 2, 2019.

"We are excited to have Oliver take on the reins of CTBC Bank's Philippine subsidiary. His in-depth knowledge of the local and financial markets, keen understanding of the CTBC's cross-cultural dynamics as well as his motivational leadership style makes him highly qualified for the position," said CTBC Bank Chairman Jack Lee. "As we enter the new decade, CTBC Bank is moving towards becoming more customer-centric and efficient for the benefit of our customers and shareholders. With Oliver at the helm, I am confident that the Bank will continue to expand its footprint in the domestic market and solidify its position as one of the country's preferred foreign banks," Lee added.

With close to three decades of industry experience, Jimeno has been the Bank's Treasurer for the past ten years. He is credited for driving Treasury's strategies and product diversification efforts that consistently delivered revenues that enhanced the Bank's profitability.

"I am both humbled and honoured to have been given the opportunity to help propel the Bank to further growth," said Jimeno. "Even prior to this appointment, I have already been part of the CTBC Bank team who I know is committed to achieving the Bank's strategies to further strengthen our Consumer Finance, Corporate and Treasury businesses to improve on our profitability, market position and customer experience. With the increased capitalization from our parent bank, we are now well equipped and primed to expand our product offerings and delivery channels to sustain our competitive advantage. Our focus will be directed to growing our customer base in market niches that we know best and have served as well in the past – the middle market accounts for Corporate Banking, and the SMEs and the affluent sector for Retail Banking."

The Bank likewise reported that based on its latest unaudited figures, it registered an after-tax income of PhP331 million as of year-end 2019, an increase of 39.0 percent over the PhP237 million generated the previous year. The sharp increase in the Bank's profitability was attributed to the strong revenue growth on the back of higher net interest income and trading income which grew by PhP280 million and PhP235 million on a year-on-year basis, respectively. Meanwhile, the Bank's total assets increased to PhP56.7 billion as of year-end 2019, owing to the steady growth of the Bank's corporate and retail loans.

Opened as a full-service commercial bank in the latter part of 1995, CTBC Bank Philippines has one of the largest branch networks among foreign banks in the country and is also deemed to be one of the most successful among the many foreign banks operating in the country.