Saturday, July 26, 2008 Global bank names new CEO for RP operations
GE Money Bank Philippines has announced the appointment of Edward Pinto as president and chief executive officer.
Pinto is a 15-year GE veteran with over seven years experience in Asia, having most recently served as chief operations officer for GE Money Asia.
His appointment reinforces the tremendous growth opportunities in the Philippines and GE Money’s focus on maximizing the next stage of growth in this key emerging market.
As chief operations officer, Pinto ran a pan-regional organization of over 2,000 staff and played a key role in integrating several acquisitions and joint ventures into GE Money. He also led the development of operational and technology infrastructure to support GE Money growth in Japan and India.
Pinto also led the execution of a regional initiative to drive greater use of technology in the way GE Money serves customers, selecting the Philippines as one of three pilot countries to launch GE Money Asia’s Internet banking platform.
Pinto will build on his familiarity with the bank having served as integration leader in 2006, where he led efforts to re-brand GE Money and revitalize its operational infrastructure.
Opportunities
“This is an exciting time to be in the Philippines and I am very pleased to take on this leadership role. The Philippines offers us tremendous opportunities for growth and the bank is well positioned to leverage our strengths to better serve our Philippines customers,” said Pinto on his appointment.
Felix Amparo, chairman of the board of directors of GE Money Bank Philippines, said Pinto’s appointment is timely as the bank’s operations in the country marked its second year last June. “The past two years have set the bank’s foundation and (Pinto’s) appointment completes our strategic plan to significantly grow our market presence,” he added.
Since its launch in June 2006, GE Money Bank has grown consistently through sustained focus on providing a “simply better banking” experience to Filipino customers. The bank achieved a 35-percent growth in assets under management from June 2006 to December 2007, and a 46-percent increase in the volume of its mortgage business as of February 2008.
The bank’s small and medium enterprise (SME) loans have also demonstrated steady growth of 30 percent since 2006.
GE Money’s Philippine operations were started in late 2005 after acquiring a majority interest in Keppel Bank Philippines, which was formerly Monte de Piedad Savings Bank. (PR)
