by Mai Gacilo Sangalang · Published on BusinessMirror December 4, 2025
THE Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP) has recently announced the winners of the sixth “Bank Marketing Awards” (BMA). The awarding ceremony was held at the Narra Function Room of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), with Deputy Governor for Regional Operations and Advocacy Sector Bernadette Romulo-Puyat as the keynote speaker and guest of honor. The BMA is a biennial awards program done in partnership with the BSP and the Financial Sector Forum.
We extend our congratulations to the most-deserving awardees of the seven categories.
The awardees include the Land Bank of the Philippines’s “Agrisenso Plus” lending program and its skills development component “Ascend,” for “Best Product” program.” Other awardees were: the “Do More with BPI” of the Bank of the Philippine Island (BPI for “Best Brand Program;” the “Pulz” of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) for “Best Electronic Channel” program; and, the “My CBC Video” of the Chinabank for “Best Digital Marketing Program.”
RCBC was the runaway, so to speak, as its “DiskarTech,” “Barangayan Banking by RCBC ATM Go” and “Sustainability Matters” campaign bagged for the lender the “Best Financial Inclusion program” award, “Best Customer-Centric Product or Service” and “Best Sustainability Drive,” respectively. The latter program also noted RCBC’s partnership with the environmental conservation organization Haribon Foundation Inc.
Their creativity, dedication and commitment to elevating customer experience continue to raise the bar and set new standards for the industry.
For this year’s BMA, we received a total of 54 entries, the highest number since the BMA’s inception in 2014. This signifies that the awards program has become synonymous with recognizing banks that demonstrated exemplary efforts in advancing marketing innovation, creative execution, raising awareness on consumer education and protection, creating positive customer experience and value, and making banking affordable and accessible to more financial consumers.
It also denotes that we have successfully elevated our relevance as a function within our organizations and earned the acknowledgment of our role in supporting business development and growth. Bank marketers are now viewed as crucial business partners, shifting from mainly expense department to strategic contributor in driving sales, increasing customer base and retention, promoting and advancing advocacy goals, consumer education and protection.
As the BMA Committee Head, I can say that the entries this year were very impressive and through the years, have significantly improved in quality and execution. Beyond the compelling and powerful storytelling, the submissions provide quantifiable evidence and adhere to the strict judging criteria.
We thank our esteemed panel of judges who, undoubtedly, had a tough time deciding: former BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier, Grupo Agatep Chairman and CEO Norman Agatep, Hungry Workhorse Consultancy CEO Rey Lugtu and Forest Foundation Philippines Board Member Ma. Aurora Tolentino for their participation, and our sponsors GoTyme, LandBank, PNB, BDO, BPI, DBP and RCBC for the support. PwC Philippines / Isla Lipana & Co. was the official tabulator.
As marketing and communication professionals, the awarding ceremony felt more of a gathering and a celebration of strategic thinkers, innovators and excellent communicators in the banking industry, demonstrating that beyond the competition, we are a function that operates with common thrust, that is to keep our clients at the center of everything that we do. With customer-centricity as a fundamental guiding principle and foundation for decision-making, we develop and deliver financial services that truly serve the consumers and help build public trust in the banking sector.
Once again, congratulations to all the BMA winners! Everyone’s inspiring work and ideas prove how bank marketing and communication can drive real impact.
Mai Gacilo Sangalang is the immediate past president of BMAP and currently its Director for Industry Relations, Banking Code and Financial Inclusion. Sangalang is the Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing of Standard Chartered Bank Philippines. She can be reached by e-mailing maigsangalang@yahoo.com. The writer’s views do not necessarily reflect those of Standard Chartered Bank, the BusinessMirror and the BMAP.