Philippines BDO Unibank Urges Tough Cybercrime Oversight

As election day nears for the Philippines, the country’s biggest bank, BDO Unibank Inc., is asking that the next president ratchet up legislation and enforcement to thwart cybercrime. The presidential and vice presidential elections are scheduled for Monday, May 9 as part of the 2022 general election.

BDO Unibank President Nestor Tan said during an annual general meeting that many financial service providers operating now don’t fall within the scope of central bank regulations, Bloomberg reported on Friday (April 22).

Tan said that for the safety of consumers and the constitution of the banking industry, officials must examine how new financial players should be regulated relative to banks. He added that lawmakers also need to have laws in place that serve as a deterrent to cybercriminals.

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The family of the late billionaire Henry Sy owns BDO, and the bank recently lost money after an online fraud channeled funds to accounts at another Philippine lender. Tan said at Friday’s meeting that BDO Unibank is continuing to sustain digital innovation while making its business strategies stronger, according to the report.

BDO Unibank grew by over 50% last year and is anticipating a growth in profits ranging from 5% to 10% in 2022 now that the restrictions of the pandemic have eased and despite the increase in inflation, Tan said.

The bank’s first-quarter net income was up 13% at 11.7 billion pesos ($223.5 million), Bloomberg reported.

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“On the human frailty side, 78% of people who receive unsolicited links click on them, while 51% of people admitted to using the same password for most of their online activity. Meanwhile, 81% of global organizations experienced increased cyber threats with 79% experiencing downtime due to a cyber incident during a peak season,” PYMNTS reported.