RCBC appoints new President and CEO

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) on Monday announced it has already approved and appointed Gil Buenaventura to take over as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, taking over from Lorenzo Tan who resigned earlier this month. 

Buenaventura, the current president and CEO of the Development Bank of the Philippines, will take over effective July 1, 2016.

Prior to his stint in DBP, Buenaventura also served as the senior executive vice-president (EVP) and chief operating officer (COO) of the Bank of the Philippines Islands; the EVP of Citytrust Banking Corp., and VP of Citibank.

This comes after Tan tendered his resignation on May 6, amid several investigations in connection with the $81-million money laundering scheme where RCBC was found to have been the initial storing grounds of the dirty money stolen from the account of the Bangladesh Bank with the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.

RCBC said, however, that Tan was cleared in an investigation by external lawyers and SGV&Co.

“As shown by RCBC’s own investigation, the allegations of my involvement in the current money-laundering issue are unfounded and baseless,” Tan said in an earlier statement.

For the meantime, Helen Y. Dee serves as the Yuchengco-led lender’s president and CEO, supported by a management team composed of RCBC Vice-Chairman Cesar EA Virata, Director Armando Medina, and the current group of senior managers.

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee has scheduled the next hearing on the money laundering scheme on Thursday, May 19. — RSJ, GMA News