TAGUIG, Philippines — The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), in partnership with The Asian Banker, brought together senior leaders from the Philippine banking and financial services industry for Finance Philippines 2026, convening regulators, banks, digital banks, fintechs, technology providers and corporates to examine the forces transforming the country’s financial ecosystem.
Held at Seda Hotel BGC, Taguig City, under the theme “The Operating Playbook for AI Banking,” the event focused on the practical realities of an industry undergoing simultaneous transformations in artificial intelligence, digital money, and financial connectivity. Discussions examined not only what is technologically possible, but how financial institutions can translate innovation into measurable business value while maintaining security, governance, resilience, and customer trust.
“The question before us is no longer whether artificial intelligence will matter to banking. The question is whether we will build the organizations, safeguards, capabilities, and ways of working needed to use it well,” said Ana Aboitiz Delgado, President and CEO of UnionBank and President of BAP. “So the real question is not whether AI will become part of banking; it is when AI becomes as indispensable as the internet, which institutions would have built it properly, and which ones would be scrambling to catch up.”
The conference placed this question at the center of the industry dialogue, with sessions examining the economics of AI-enabled banking, agentic AI, production-grade AI infrastructure, AI-driven fraud and the implications of embedding AI across the banking enterprise.
With the Philippine financial sector entering a period of accelerated technological and structural change, Aboitiz Delgado believes that accountability and collaboration are essential to ensuring that innovation translates into sustainable and inclusive growth.
“The central point here is that accountability remains with the institution. It does not move to the vendor, the model, or to the technology team; the bank and the bankers need to own their outcomes. Every AI system in production should therefore have a named owner, a clear governance chain, and a documented failure role,” said Aboitiz Delgado.
“My favorite advocacy is that we must collaborate as an industry. We need common standards and stronger sharing, especially in fraud intelligence. Fraud networks do not recognize institutional boundaries. In an interconnected financial system, one’s institution vulnerability can quickly become a wider problem, and our defenses must therefore be coordinated. For the Philippines, the opportunity is not only about efficiency; it’s also about inclusion,” she added.
Through its partnership in Finance Philippines 2026, the BAP reaffirms its commitment to fostering meaningful dialogue and collaboration across the financial services ecosystem and to supporting the continued development of a more innovative, resilient, and future-ready Philippine banking industry.
