UnionBank CEO elected as bankers group’s first female president

UnionBank president and CEO Ana Maria Aboitiz-Delgado has been elected president of the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), becoming the first woman to lead the industry group in its nearly 80-year history.

In a news release on Wednesday, BAP said Aboitiz-Delgado succeeds Jose Teodoro Limcaoco, president and CEO of Bank of the Philippines (BPI), who finished his three-year term as the group’s chief.

“What excites me most is that as bankers, ours is an industry that has the ability to uplift lives and fuel economic progress by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of banking services. As we see the acceleration of digitalization and the potential of AI, we face a next generation of risks that extend beyond individual institutions and national borders. These risks are further compounded by the economic impact arising from geopolitical uncertainty that faces us,” she said. 

Aboitiz-Delgado leads UnionBank since January 2025 after over two decades with the bank. She led the bank’s digital transformation, consumer finance, institutional and SME banking, and customer experience design.

Other newly elected officials of BAP include, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company president Fabian Dee as 1st vice president, Land bank of the Philippines president Lynette Ortiz as 2nd vice president, BDP Private Bank president Joseph Albert Gotuaco as treasurer, Citibank CEO Paul Raymond Favila as secretary.

The BAP is the lead organization of universal and commercial banks in the Philippines consisting of 45 member banks, 21 of which are local banks and 24 are foreign bank branches.

It counts as members BDO, BPI, Metrobank, PNB, RCBC, ING, EastWest Bank, Union Bank, UCPC, Citibank, among others. —VAL, GMA Integrated News