Security Bank forges ahead as it celebrates 71 years of BetterBanking service

Security Bank Corporation (PSE: SECB), one of the Philippines’ leading universal banks, has been serving retail, corporate, institutional, and MSME clients since it opened its doors in 1951. 

The façade of Security Bank’s head office in Ayala Avenue features an installation titled Perfect Harmony—a modernized yin and yang depiction of synergy and collaboration.

In the 1980s, while expanding its branch network, the Bank launched various innovative credit and trust products that have become forerunners of many of today’s industry offerings. It was a pioneer in the country’s credit card industry with the launch of the first credit card franchise through Diners Club. 

In 1991, new majority owners led by current Chairman Emeritus Frederick Y. Dy took over Security Bank, provided a fresh direction, and in 1995, the Bank was listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange. In 2016, Japan’s banking giant MUFG Bank Ltd. invested PHP36.9B for a 20% stake in Security Bank—enabling both organizations to leverage cross-border capabilities and further innovate their financial products and services. 

Delivering on a vision of customer-centricity

Solenn Heussaff joins the Security Bank family as the banks’ newest brand ambassador together with brother Erwan Heussaff.

Building on a heritage of BetterBanking service, as recognized over the years by The Asian Banker, Euromoney, Asiamoney, Alpha Southeast Asia, and many others, the Bank embarked on a new journey in 2020. Amid the pandemic, the Bank found opportunities to evolve and carve out paths for growth. With changing customer behaviors and business needs in mind, the Bank pivoted to invest in service differentiation.

Anchored on a vision to become the most customer-centric bank in the Philippines, Security Bank focused its lens on high growth sectors in retail, wholesale, and MSME segments—understanding and investing in what matters to clients. In doing so, significant investments were made in people engagement and talent development, scalable infrastructure, cloud technology, as well as robust risk management controls.

The Bank recently held its Service Tenure Awards to honor and recognize long-serving employees, including 40-year veteran, Retail Banking Segment Head, Maki Tingson. (L-R, Nerissa Berba, SVP and Head of Human Capital Management, Maki Tingson, EVP and Retail Banking Segment Head and Chairman Emeritus, Frederick Dy.

“Serving our customers has always been crucial to our success. We have taken this a step forward by investing in our customers—thinking long-term and focusing our resources to innovate and delight them. We have and continue to make investments in order to transform our customers’ journey and exceed their expectations across our different products and services,” said Sanjiv Vohra, Security Bank President and CEO.

Apart from investments in new organizational teams to support its vision, the Bank partnered with global frontrunners like Oracle, AWS, Google, Microsoft, Bain, and McKinsey on its strategic journey and digital transformation. This was complemented by initiatives to equip its people with the skills needed to embrace change and take on complex challenges—leveraging industry-leading platforms like LinkedIn Learning and Glint to track success.

 Creating lasting impact for all stakeholders

Security Bank Foundation awarded technical vocational scholarships in partnership with Don Bosco Academy Pampanga and the Bank’s industrial clients, Motech Automotive Educational Center, Inc. and Sambon P&E Philippines, Inc.

Taking its mission of enriching lives, empowering businesses, and building communities to heart, the Bank has put its stakeholders at the core of its sustainability journey. Its BetterBanking commitment is demonstrated by collective efforts to provide excellent financial products and services for clients, add value at every customer interaction, care for employees’ health and welfare, act responsibly, and support advocacies that align with its mission.

SBFI recognized for its Ready Set Read education program at the League of Corporate Foundation CSR Guild Awards (From left to right: SBFI Program Officer Racquel Tanyag, SBFI Program Manager Louie De Real, KCFI President and CEO Rina Lopez-Bautista, and KCFI Director for Operations Edric Calma

These advocacies promote health and wellness, livelihood development, community-building programs in disaster recovery, arts and culture, and women empowerment. These complement the pioneering work of Security Bank Foundation Inc. (SBFI), the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm. SBFI drives the Bank’s advocacy for quality education through various initiatives, including scholarship and classroom-building programs.

Security Bank employees participated in the “Hope Begins with a Meal” food packing activity led by International Care Ministries. ICM and its partner companies packed a total of 16,000 meals for delivery to impoverished families in the Philippines.

The Bank worked with Helping Women and Others (HWAO) Foundation and their partners to construct the PGH Chemo Prep Room, which will improve preparation of chemotherapy medications and help more cancer patients.

Security Bank has made significant strides in its sustainability imperative. The Bank’s Sustainability Framework was developed in 2020, outlining its approach to addressing environmental, social, and governance issues.

Security Bank joined the GFANZ global coalition event to accelerate transition to net-zero with its President and CEO Sanjiv Vohra in attendance—a testament to its commitment to zero out coal power generation financing.

To further underpin this framework, in 2021, the Board approved the Bank’s Environmental and Social Risk Management System (ESRMS), detailing the policies and due diligence requirements to identify, address, and mitigate environmental and social risks in its operations, lending and investing practices, and supply chain. 

A key component of its ESRMS is the commitment to zero out coal power generation financing. In fact, the Bank has stopped funding the construction of new coal power generation plants with a view to completely exit direct financing by 2033.

“As we celebrate our 71st anniversary, we’re committed to innovating our BetterBanking service to benefit our stakeholders. With over seven decades of experience and a sharp focus ahead, we’re optimistic about achieving our vision to become the most customer-centric bank in the Philippines,” adds Vohra. 

To know more about Security Bank, visit www.securitybank.com.

ADVT