Immediate ABA Past Chaiman Mr. Eugene S. Acevedo, President and CEO o Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) from the Philippines has been named by the renowned publication People Asia among those in its list of “People of the Year 2024”.

The list includes outstanding individuals whose work made a difference in their respective industries and have emphatically influenced the lives of many. People Asia is a Philippine publication that features inside stories on public servants, business leaders, celebrities, icons and more movers and shakers.

Mr. Acevedo said that he was grateful for the honor that “rightfully belongs to the 6,400 dedicated RCBC bankers who give our customers great service.”

Dubbed as “The Consummate Banker in the People Asia story, Mr. Acevedo – who is also the current Chairman of the ABA Advisory Council – was recognized for championing the bank’s financial inclusion efforts and digital expansion. Under his leadership,

RCBC emerged as the country’s fastestgrowing bank, leapfrogging from eight position in 2018 to fifth in 2022 in the list of the Philippines’ largest privately owned banks in terms of assets.

Mr. Acevedo emphasized the bank’s advocacy to making banking accessible and relevant to millions of Filipinos in underserved and unbanked segments of Philippine society, noting that RCBC strongly supports the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ vision of onboarding 70 percent of adult Filipinos and digitizing 50 percent of retail payments by the end of 2023.

He said the bank is also investing heavily in supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises through the recently launched RCBC B oz mobile application, The latest digital solution provides a wide array of services for budding entrepreneurs.

Mr. Acevedo said that are working tirelessly to make loans and credit accessible to entrepreneurs as Filipinos often face high entry barriers in traditional formal loaning and credit systems.

He further highlighted RCBC ATM Go, platform of almost 6,000 mobile devices servicing 100 percent of all provinces nationwide. It acts as a handheld ATM that facilitates withdrawals, deposits, and bills payments, among many other banking services. CRBC ATM Go is part of RCBC’s Barangayan Banking, providing convenient and relevant digital solutions for communities that suffer limited digital penetration.

The bank has also embarked on a sustainability venture by not only focusing ion financial access to marginalized groups, but also by being the first Philippine bank to divest from coal towards cleaner energy alternatives,