Kyndryl and BPI celebrate 10 years of strategic partnership

BPI President and CEO TG Limcaoco with Kyndryl Global Group President Elly Keinan.

Kyndryl (NYSE: KD), the world’s largest IT infrastructure services provider, and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), a leading provider of financial services and an industry pillar in the Philippines, commemorate the 10th anniversary of their technology infrastructure services partnership that underpins BPI’s robust IT governance framework.

Over the past decade, BPI made significant advancements across its Data Center Operations, Server and Storage Management, IT Service Desk, Security Management, and Asset Management operations, fine-tuning standard procedures and tools across its organization. Through its partnership with Kyndryl, BPI, with its substantial network of 752 branches across the country, has grown its technical talent and is now taking advantage of advanced technology solutions to foster its ongoing digital transformation and is working to create a seamless customer experience for its clientele.

“Our continued collaboration with Kyndryl underscores our shared commitment to digital transformation, aimed at enhancing customer experience and ensuring data management and protection,” said Alex Seminiano, BPI Chief Technology Officer. “As a testament to our dedication to digitalization and customer obsession, we at BPI continue to innovate banking products and platforms as part of our mission to help build a better Philippines – one family, one community at a time.”

Photo shows (from left): Wilson Go, Kyndryl Philippines Managing Director; Andrew Lim, Kyndryl ASEAN Managing Director; TG Limcaoco, BPI President and CEO; Elly Keinan, Kyndryl Global Group President; and Mariels Winhoffer, Kyndryl Global Business Development Leader

Kyndryl is investing in the Philippines and is committed to continuing to enhance its local delivery capabilities to support customers in the Philippines and abroad as they accelerate their plans to modernize, digitally transform and build operational resiliency. As the nation continues to grow its digital competitiveness, Kyndryl in collaboration with BPI, is focused on the education, skill advancement and experience of its local workforce to take advantage of the latest technologies in the areas of automation, cloud, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

"We are deeply honoured to be a strategic technology partner for BPI over the past ten years and remain fully committed to helping them continuously transform for a bright digital future,” said Wilson Go, Managing Director of Kyndryl Philippines. “At Kyndryl, we are excited to do our part to contribute to the deep base of homegrown technical talent in the Philippines and we look forward to collaborating with BPI to build a community of skilled technical experts in new areas such as automation and cloud modernization services.”

BPI AIA announces Karen Custodia as new CEO

BPI AIA, a joint venture between the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and AIA Philippines, has announced Karen Custodia as its new CEO. With more than a decade of experience in the industry, Ms. Custodia is well-positioned to lead the company towards continued growth and success.

Surendra Menon turning over the role of Chief Executive Officer to Karen Custodia during BPI AIA’s recent Sales Kick Off event

Top bancassurance firm BPI AIA today announced the appointment of Karen Custodia as the new Chief Executive Officer of BPI AIA, which took effect on January 9, 2023. At the helm, Custodia takes on the responsibility of overseeing BPI AIA’s growing Partnership Distribution Channel and managing its strategic relationship with BPI while providing leadership to support a wide range of initiatives.

“I am both proud and humbled to take on this new role at BPI AIA as we continue to provide Filipinos with the financial protection they need and encourage them to live longer, healthier, and better lives.  We understand our consumers’ changing needs and we will continue to invest in innovations to fulfill our strong commitment to making insurance accessible, affordable, and personalized for every Filipino.,” said Karen Custodia, BPI AIA CEO.

Prior to her appointment, she held the role of Head of Partnership Distribution Sales Channels at BPI AIA since 2014. Bringing in more than a decade of rich experience in sales, Custodia has a proven track record of driving impactful change in the company. In her previous role, she led a team of over 1,500 employees from the In-Branch Corporate Sales, Direct Sales, Private Banking, and Telesales teams.

Under her leadership, BPI AIA successfully implemented a new distribution model aligned with BPI’s customer and channel strategy. This feat has strengthened partner engagement and consequently increased the sales force productivity.

“Our partnership with BPI has grown stronger every year, we push on every day to protect our customers letting them love the lives they live. We look forward to working alongside them towards our common goal of building a better Philippines, one family, one community at a time,” added Custodia.

Custodia previously led the distribution channels to shift from physical to hybrid interaction at the height of the pandemic. The shift helped curb the pandemic’s impact and achieve faster recovery while staying true to the BPI AIA mission of making insurance easy to get and easy to have for every Filipino.

Custodia replaced Surendra Menon, who served six years as BPI AIA CEO and was recently appointed as Director of Partnership Distribution of AIA Indonesia. Custodia will work closely with and will be directly reporting to Kelvin Ang, Chief Executive Officer of AIA Philippines.

“I am honored to pass on the chief executive role to Karen. Through the course of her career, she has demonstrated her expertise and knowledge, which have been key parts of many of the organization’s innovations and developments. With her spearheading BPI AIA, I am certain that she will drive the company toward new heights of success,” said Surendra Menon, outgoing and former CEO of BPI AIA.

BPI AIA is a joint venture between two icons of the financial industry, AIA Philippines (formerly AIA Philam Life) and the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). To learn more about the leading bancassurance company, visit https://www.bpi-aia.com.ph/.

BPI AIA makes health security affordable and accessible for SMEs

Employees are the backbone of any business. For an economy like the Philippines which is made up of hundreds of thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), employees are instrumental in driving the success of recovery efforts.

Yet behind the momentum of thriving in the “now normal” lurks the financial risk that comes with the increased likelihood of sickness among workers. Sickness and accidents happen when one least expects it and the resulting expenses from hospitalization, rehabilitation, medicines, and other treatment can easily set one back by millions of pesos. SMEs, by nature, are particularly exposed to this kind of liability, in addition to the intangible losses this may incur, such as reputation damage from service disruption.

To address this gap, insurance firm BPI AIA — a strategic alliance between Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and AIA Philippines (formerly AIA Philam Life) — is advocating awareness about health protection solutions specifically designed for SMEs. Called Health Essentials, the solution enables SME clients to provide their respective employees with medical assistance benefits similar to those extended by health maintenance organizations (HMOs)—at a manageable cost.

“Employers have a duty to nurture their workforce to attract and maintain the best talents and ensure business continuity. Being able to provide a comprehensive benefit right away promotes SME competitiveness, and in the long term, improves productivity and delivers great results that create a positive financial impact to the organization,” said BPI AIA CEO Surendra Menon. “We are encouraging and enabling our customers to live healthier, so they can live longer and better lives as we promised.”

Flexible and Affordable Health Care Coverage

Health Essentials offers utmost flexibility to its policyholders as it features a “no-cash-out” facility for the availment of medical benefits from a wide network of providers or a reimbursement of their expenses if conditions allow. BPI AIA can also create a tailor-fit plan for the SME, enabling an easy mixing and matching of benefits to determine which combinations would fit one’s needs.

In-Patient Benefits cover room and board and use of Intensive Care Unit (ICU); Special Hospital Services, such as use of operating room, X-Ray, laboratory exams, and medicines; Surgeon’s Fees, if any; and the Attending Physician’s Fee for daily hospital visits.

Meanwhile, optional Out-Patient Benefits cover consultations, X-Ray, laboratory and diagnostic exams; basic Annual Physical Examination (APE); select Dental Benefits; Maternity Benefits including pre- and post-natal consultations and coverage for normal or caesarian delivery, miscarriage or pregnancy complications; and Prescribed Medicines up to a specified limit per year.

In addition, there is a Financial Assistance Benefit for all insured members paid as a lump sum amount if the insured dies of natural or accidental causes. Benefits may be extended to the dependents of Principal Employees, be they married, single, or even single parents.

On top of all this, SME clients can receive expert advice on employee benefits and business insurance, providing holistic solutions based on employees’ needs and the company’s budget.

As an illustration, a Luzon-based company can extend an employee In-Patient Benefits of up to Php 200,000 Annual Benefit Limit; Php 50,000 Financial Assistance in case of death; Out-Patient Benefits of up to Php 6,000 per visit; and basic APE and Dental benefits for an annual premium of only Php 8,928.40 per employee per year. Like other insurance plans, the final amount varies on the client’s specifics at the time of subscription, so it’s best to reach out to an authorized representative for an accurate quote.

To avail the Health Essentials solution, SMEs are encouraged to get in touch via the BPI AIA website bpi-aia.com.ph. Meanwhile, for BPI’s SME clients, the bank should be able to endorse them to BPI AIA’s Employee Benefits Specialists.

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