Cariaso takes helm as RCBC president, CEO

RIZAL COMMERCIAL Banking Corp. (RCBC) has appointed Reginaldo Anthony B. Cariaso as its president and chief executive officer (CEO) effective July 1, it said on Tuesday.

Mr. Cariaso, who was tapped to be the bank’s deputy CEO starting January, succeeds Eugene S. Acevedo following the latter’s retirement. RCBC said Mr. Acevedo, who held the post since July 2019, steered the bank “through a period of transformative growth, digital innovation, and inclusive banking.”

Mr. Acevedo will remain part of the RCBC’s board of directors.

Prior to his stint as deputy CEO starting this year, Mr. Cariaso was RCBC’s executive vice-president and operations group head.

He has nearly 30 years of leadership experience in local and foreign financial institutions and has “extensive expertise in institutional banking, capital markets, and strategic execution,” RCBC said.

Before he joined RCBC, Mr. Cariaso held senior leadership roles at Bank of the Philippine Islands and JPMorgan Hong Kong. He began his career as a lieutenant in the US Navy Submarine Force.

The listed lender said Mr. Cariaso aims to boost RCBC’s position as a digitally driven and customer-first bank via their financial innovations, including the use of data intelligence and enterprise integration, to enhance service delivery and improve their clients’ banking experience.

“Our focus is clear. We will build more seamless connections to deliver relevant, timely, and intuitive financial solutions,” Mr. Cariaso said. “We want to serve our customers in ways that are not only accessible and secure, but meaningful and future-ready.”

“Our job is to integrate channels, data, and teams more effectively in order to deliver not just better products, but better outcomes. From payments to platforms to partnerships, everything must work together to create lasting value,” he added.

Mr. Cariaso said RCBC needs to go beyond traditional product offerings like loans, deposits, and basic transactions to remain competitive, adding that they should put in place a “scalable strategy” focused on boosting customer engagement with the help of digital tools, data, and smarter systems.

“Cariaso’s appointment reflects a carefully planned leadership transition that ensures both continuity and forward momentum for RCBC. It reaffirms the bank’s commitment to innovation, customer-focused service, and long-term growth in a rapidly evolving market. Backed by a strong foundation and a renewed strategic direction, RCBC is poised to continue delivering value to its stakeholders and communities for generations to come,” the bank said.

MOODY’S AFFIRMS RATINGS
Meanwhile, Moody’s Ratings on Tuesday said it has affirmed RCBC’s deposit ratings with a stable outlook.

In particular, the debt watcher kept RCBC’s Baa3/P-3 long-term (LT) and short-term (ST) foreign-currency (FC) deposit ratings, Baa3 FC senior unsecured rating, Baa3/P-3 LT and ST local currency (LC) and FC counterparty risk ratings, Baa3(cr)/P-3(cr) LT and ST counterparty risk assessments, and its ba1 baseline credit assessment (BCA) and adjusted BCA.

It also affirmed the bank’s (P)Baa3 FC senior unsecured medium-term note (MTN) program rating, its FC non-cumulative preference stock rating at B1(hyb) and its (P)P-3 FC other ST rating.

Moody’s said the rating action reflects RCBC’s “modest solvency” compared to its peers. “At the same time, it considers the bank’s modest deposit franchise, offset by its strong liquidity buffers.”

“We expect the bank’s profitability to remain broadly stable at the current level, as increased exposure to higher-yielding retail products and cuts in reserve requirements will help to mitigate pressure from lower interest rates and higher credit costs. We also expect RCBC’s profitability to remain lower than its rated peers due to its high cost of funds,” it said.

It added that the bank’s asset quality will remain under pressure due to the rapid growth of its consumer portfolio and as small and medium enterprises remain vulnerable to defaults due to still-elevated interest rates.

Moody’s noted that the bank has “modest” buffers against credit losses as its loan loss reserves as a percentage of stage 3 loans declined to 57.7% as of December 2024 from 64.1% a year earlier, lower than the 97% average seen for its other rated Philippine banks.

Meanwhile, the bank’s capitalization is expected to moderate over the next 12 to 18 months as the growth in its loans — which Moody’s expects to be at about 10% this year — is expected to outpace capital generation.

“RCBC has a low reliance on market funds: as a percentage of tangible banking assets, they were low at 8.6% as of December 2024. However, the bank’s deposit franchise remains modest, as reflected by its high cost of funds relative to rated peers. Meanwhile, RCBC maintains a high level of liquidity, with liquid banking assets accounting for 42.9% of its tangible banking assets as of December 2024,” the credit rater said.

Moody’s could upgrade RCBC’s ratings and BCA if it exhibits strong profitability and improved capital generation and asset quality. The opposite could lead to a downgrade, along with a “significant weakening in RCBC’s funding and liquidity.” — BVR