Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo
was recognized as a distinguished alumnus awardee for corporate governance in
banking and finance by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA).
Borromeo received the recognition for her career achievements from UP Alumni
Regent and UPAA President Reynaldo Laserna, UP Vice President for Public Affairs
Elena Pernia, and UPAA Board Member Romeo Nones on 19 May 2022 during the
UPAA Distinguished Alumni Awards celebration.
The annual award ceremony honors graduates of the State University for their
outstanding achievements in their respective fields of specialization and service.
Borromeo completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Agribusiness from the
University of the Philippines Los Baños.
She holds the distinction of being the only banker to ever hold the presidency of two
government financial institutions—LANDBANK and the Development Bank of the
Philippines (DBP).
Since being appointed as President and CEO of LANDBANK in March 2019, Borromeo
has steered the Bank’s intensified support to small farmers and fishers, further
solidifying the Bank’s position as the biggest lender to the agriculture sector.
LANDBANK’s reach to small farmers and fishers expanded by 270% from 889,669 in
June 2019 to 3.29 million as of April 2022. Total agri loan portfolio likewise
consistently grew from P236.31 billion in 2019 to P247.85 billion in 2021.
Borromeo spearheaded the expansion of LANDBANK’s development thrust to serve
other key sectors in support of the Government’s financial inclusion drive, while
becoming the country’s second largest bank in terms of assets and deposits.
LANDBANK serves as the delivery arm for cash grants for 10 million beneficiaries of
the Conditional Cash Transfer and Unconditional Cash Transfer Programs of the
DSWD. It also served as conduit for various amelioration especially under the
Bayanihan-related programs during the pandemic.
Under Borromeo’s leadership, LANDBANK has maintained its dominance as the
biggest development partner of the LGU sector towards inclusive and sustainable
local development, with all LGUs nationwide maintaining deposit accounts with the
state-run Bank.
LANDBANK is providing unbanked Philippine Identification System (PhilSys)
registrants with transaction accounts. As of April 2022, the Bank has onboarded
almost 8 million previously unbanked Filipinos.
Borromeo has also led LANDBANK’s digitalization geared towards providing safe,
accessible and convenient banking service to meet the growing needs of customers.
In 2021, the Bank’s major digital platforms recorded a surge in utilization equivalent
to a 19% growth in transactions facilitated and 46% in value.
It was also during Borromeo’s term that the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank)—a
LANDBANK subsidiary—was established as a digital-only and branchless bank – the
first Digital Bank in the Philippines. It caters to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs),
overseas Filipinos, and their beneficiaries.
Borromeo’s banking career spans 30 years in agricultural and development lending,
treasury and investment banking, public sector lending, corporate banking, global
banking, wholesale banking and lending program management.
