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WATCH: BPI CEO says 2021 our ‘last shot’ to save small businesses

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WATCH: BPI CEO says 2021 our ‘last shot’ to save small businesses
'This is our last shot. We need to get the vaccination right, because people have dipped into their savings,' says BPI president and CEO TG Limcaoco

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) president and chief executive officer TG Limcaoco is optimistic that the economy will bounce back by the end of 2021, as more people get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Failure to meet vaccination targets, however, may mean more permanent business closures.

“This is our last shot. We need to get the vaccination right, because people have dipped into their savings,” Limcaoco said in a Business Sense interview.

“People have held back, they’ve dipped into their savings, they’ve kept people on their payroll because they’re optimistic that the economy will open up and it’s hard to rehire people, and so people have kept their workers on their payroll. But hey, it’s been 18 months already, so how long can you dip into your savings? That’s my fear, and sooner or later, people will have to give up if this thing stretches out.”

WATCH: BPI CEO says 2021 our ‘last shot’ to save small businesses

In the interview, Limcaoco also talked about why physical banks won’t go away despite the accelerated digital transformation.

“My belief is branches are here to stay. I don’t think you can ever have a fairly large bank without physical branches because the branches remain, in my mind, a center of education, of information.” – Rappler.com

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