Philippine Veterans Bank names 4 new board members

Following the appointment of former Finance Secretary Roberto de Ocampo as its new chair, Philippine Veterans Bank has named four new members to its 10-man board.

The four are former Bureau of Internal Revenue and Customs chief Guillermo Parayno; Judith Lopez, chair of Isla Lipana & Co. (Philippine member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers), and concurrently President of the Financial Executives Association of the Philippines (Finex); Nieves Confesor, Dean of the Asian Institute of Management and former labor secretary, and veteran banker Alfonso “Boy” Cruz, formerly with Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines.

In a statement, De Ocampo said the entry of the four new board members would help in pursuing strategic directions that would put the PVB in a more relevant position in the local banking industry.

“I cannot over-emphasize the fact that with names like these and with the names of the other board members, who are also—in their own right—outstanding members of the community, you have a leadership that is second to none,” De Ocampo said.

De Ocampo said he was aiming to revitalize the medium-sized commercial bank and enable it to become an active major player in the banking industry.

“I’d say we have established a board that is going to signal the community that this bank intends to be a major player in banking,” De Ocampo said.

PVB is a private commercial bank owned by some 400,000 World War II veterans and their heirs. De Ocampo himself is also a son of a Filipino World War II veteran.

During his stint as finance secretary, De Ocampo was credited for turning around the Philippine government’s fiscal position from large deficits to surpluses.