Land Bank of the Philippines President and CEO Cecilia Cayosa Borromeo was named “Outstanding CEO for 2023” during the annual Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific Development Awards on 16 May 2023 held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

The “Outstanding CEO Award 2023” is granted by ADFIAP to a practicing chief executive officer whose exceptional leadership, vision, and achievements have made a significant impact on his or her institution, the development banking profession, and the country’s development.

The award recognizes Borromeo’s accomplishments in steering the Bank’s transformation as a development-oriented institution at the forefront of nation-building.

Peer recognition

“I am deeply honored and humbled by this recognition from peers in development finance. This accolade extends to the men and women of LandBank who are passionate in service, committed to the pursuit of excellence, and inspired to make a positive difference,” Borromeo said.

President Borromeo led LandBank’s intensified support to agriculture, by almost quadrupling the number of small farmers and fishers assisted from 889,669 in June 2019 to 3.5 million by the end of 2022, exceeding its commitment to reach 3 million small farmers and fishers by 2022.

The bank’s farm loans also grew to P261.7 billion — the highest in the industry — which supported all components of the agriculture value chain.

Under her leadership, LandBank became a key player in advancing the government’s financial inclusion agenda, by onboarding a total of 8.35 million previously unbanked Filipinos who are registrants in the National ID program.

President Borromeo likewise pushed for the continued expansion of LandBank’s reach, especially in unserved and underserved areas. LandBank is the only bank present in all 82 provinces of the country, with touchpoints in 80 percent of the 1,634 cities and municipalities nationwide.

It was also during her term that LandBank ramped up its digitalization drive towards providing digital solutions to meet the growing needs of customers, posting year-on-year growths of 14 percent amounting to 155.8 million transactions and 126 percent for P5.6 trillion in value, respectively, in 2022.

LandBank breached the P3-trillion mark in total assets and P30-billion in net income in 2022, posting an asset growth of 21.5 percent to P3.1 trillion and a jump of 38.2 percent in net income to P30.1 billion, respectively.

President Borromeo’s term also saw the establishment of LandBank’s subsidiary, the Overseas Filipino Bank, as a digital bank and the first branchless bank in the Philippines catering especially to Overseas Filipino Workers and Overseas Filipinos.