Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) opened on Tuesday its flagship branch for clients in Makati City that features a glass design and wider space, reflecting its commitment to reach more customers and offer streamlined services.
BPI built the 680-square-meter branch at the Insular Life building on the corner of Ayala and Paseo de Roxas avenues. The branch is part of the Ayala-led bank’s renovation of at least five branches in the city.
Through these branches, the universal lender aims to shorten lines at its banks in Makati, which is the country’s largest business district, as they seek to draw more clients and more in-branch inquiry within its premises.
“It is a daring move for us because this branch is quite large. We want to create a unique
experience for customers as Makati is congested. The large space will enable them to do their daily transactions and complicated ones, as well, with our trusted advisers,” said Joseph Albert L. Gotuaco, BPI executive vice president and head of its Retail Client Group.
Thus, more than its modern design, Gotuaco added the flagship branch represents BPI’s efforts to adapt to the emerging needs and preferences of its 8.2 million clients who transact in branches and on smartphones.
“Our strategy is not only to create the right space for our clients, but at the core, we’re developing our products, getting them in one place and delivering them fast as a piece of customer experience,” he said.
Gotuaco added the BPI will be adding at least nine branches this year, and another 17 for next year, as part of its more than 841-branch network nationwide for its various markets.
“We’ll be seeing branches like this, which is larger than the normal [branches] in other major cities and also be designed, not only for retail customers but also corporate and small and medium enterprises,” he said.
Gotuaco added the BPI was granted a license by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to construct up to 50 branches around the country next year.
“We’re inching up in the number of branches and focusing a lot on refurbishing them. Expanding our footprint through branches is very important because our transactions have been highly automated. But we still offer various consumer products, such as deposits, loans, insurance and savings, in branches,” he said.
