HSBC chief moving to PNB

Wick Veloso photo by JOAN BONDOC

Tycoon Lucio Tan-led Philippine National Bank is seen to name veteran banker Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso, the first Filipino chief of British banking giant HSBC in the Philippines, as its new president and chief executive officer.

Two Inquirer sources privy to the matter said Veloso, 52, would take the place of PNB president Reynaldo Maclang, who will soon turn 80 and has made a decision to retire.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, PNB said its board of directors had “not approved any such retirement” of Maclang.

The PNB board, however, is expected to convene to discuss Maclang’s retirement and Veloso’s appointment in the coming days. Another source said the official announcement on this changing of the guard would likely be made after Maclang’s milestone birthday in September.

Other sources said that Veloso had submitted his resignation as country CEO of HSBC, a position he has held since 2012.

Veloso declined to comment on his reported resignation and new job.

Philippine National Bank is the fifth-biggest lender in the Philippines, with total assets of P836 billion as of end-June this year. It has more than 690 branches and 1,240 automated teller machines strategically located nationwide. It also has the most extensive international footprint among Philippine banks, with more than 70 overseas branches, representative offices, remittance centers and subsidiaries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

Veloso is armed with 27 years of banking experience. He is a veteran in treasury and capital market activities.

As a fresh college graduate with a degree in Marketing Management from De La Salle University, Veloso had initially planned to pursue a career in advertising. However, a local bank offered a job in treasury that paved the way for his entry into the banking business.

Prior to joining HSBC, Veloso had worked for several local institutions, including Urban Development Bank, Asiatrust Development Bank, Citibank in the Philippines, PCIB Capital and PCI Bank.

He first joined HSBC in late 1994 as head of interest rate trading in the Philippines, before transferring to the group’s Asian headquarters in Hong Kong to take on dual roles—as head of Asian local currency debt trading and at the same time as head of credit derivatives for Asia-Pacific. Before coming back to the Philippines in 2004 to head the Philippines’ treasury and global markets business, he had also undertaken a number of overseas assignments in London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Korea and Pakistan.

“Wick has resigned from his role as president and CEO for Philippines. A successor (is) to be announced in due course,” HSBC Philippines said in reply to Inquirer’s e-mail.