Security Bank Corporation (PSE:SECB), one of the country’s best capitalized private domestic universal banks, is entering its 73rd year with robust initiatives to strengthen its BetterBanking experience.
“As we celebrate our 73rd anniversary, my deep appreciation goes out to our customers and investors for their continued trust; and our employees for their remarkable contributions,” said Sanjiv Vohra, President and CEO. “Security Bank will scale to even greater heights beyond 2024. We will accelerate our growth and deliver on our transformation goals in our pursuit to become the most customer-centric bank in the Philippines.”
The Bank is celebrating this week by hosting three weeks of employee activities including its second-ever People’s Fair, with interactive learning sessions, games, health and wellness activities, fitness classes, a two-day food packing initiative, and more.
Investing in technology to drive innovation and cybersecurity
Transformation projects are underway to supercharge customer journeys across the Bank’s retail, corporate, commercial, and MSME segments by leveraging data and digital capabilities. The Bank has made significant investments in technology, data and digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, core technology, process excellence, and automation.
All 328 branches nationwide have been upgraded with Mosaic Voyager—a new tellering and lobby management system to speed up transactions and manage branch lobby traffic. The Bank’s new payment hub provides streamlined operations, reduced transaction times, and enhanced security. Deployment of cloud computing has also led to better operational flexibility and scalability of services, enabling the Bank to rapidly adapt to changing market demands and customer needs.
Championing a diverse, values-based culture
When Security Bank identified its vision to become the country’s most customer-centric bank in 2021, it looked inward to assess its people capability and talent pool. Since then, the Bank has launched market-leading initiatives such as its hybrid work arrangement, Employee Value Proposition (EVP) called “YOU matter,” and a new platform called HeRO to enhance the employee experience.
Expanding the scope of sustainability
The Bank’s Sustainable Finance Framework will enable green and other sustainable finance projects, as well as allow an examination of its operations and value chain through the lens of environmental risk and impact. The Bank shifted its Head Office in Makati City and three of its branches to 100% renewable energy—with more to come in 2024.
The Bank is also partnering with climate experts to help verify and expand its scope of operational emissions reporting and establish a baseline for financed emissions. One example is its partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to build up institutional capability to expand Sustainable Finance portfolio, impact monitoring, and scale up ESRMS.
Celebrating international recognition
In 2024 alone, Security Bank was recognized as Best for High-Net-Worth in the Philippines by Euromoney for the fourth consecutive year. Corporate Governance Asia recognized the Bank with awards for: Best Investor Relations Company (Philippines); Sustainable Asia Award; Best CEO (Investor Relations); Best CFO (Investor Relations); and Best Investor Relations Professional for the fourth consecutive year. The Bank recently won two awards for enhancing customer experience through digitalization: Best Digital CX – Account Opening and Onboarding (Highly Acclaimed) from The Digital Banker and Best Branch Digitisation Implementation from The Asian Banker.
Building communities sustainably
Together with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm, Security Bank Foundation, Inc. (SBFI), the Bank focuses on areas such as educational services, health and wellness, community engagement, and environmental stewardship.
To date, SBFI’s flagship Build a School, Build a Nation program has donated 771 classrooms (138 school buildings) to 118 beneficiary schools, reaching 184,000 students in 79 cities/municipalities. Moreover, SBFI celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023 with official recognition by DepEd as one of its biggest donors for its Adopt a School program, with over PHP1 billion in investments since 2011. Looking ahead, SBFI plans to donate over 1,000 classrooms by 2026.
Demonstrating strong financial performance
Security Bank continues to demonstrate healthy performance with notable positives. For Q1 2024, the Bank reported a net income of PHP2.6 billion, up 11% year-on-year and 71% quarter-on-quarter, driven by growth in retail and MSME businesses, while being opportunistic in corporate business. The Bank’s recent USD400 million issuance of senior unsecured fixed-rate bonds was met with strong demand and successful pricing. Further, this reflects the market’s continued confidence in Security Bank’s credit strength and growth prospects.