Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation
A Philippine universal bank serving retail, corporate, investment-banking, digital-banking and inclusive-finance customers.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, commonly known as RCBC, is a Philippine universal bank headquartered at RCBC Plaza in Makati, Metro Manila. Established in 1960 as Rizal Development Bank, it began as a small development-focused institution with a one-room office and 15 employees. It adopted the RCBC name when it commenced commercial-bank operations in 1963 and obtained a universal-banking license in 1989. The bank operates under licenses and supervision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for commercial and investment banking. Its business covers consumer and retail banking, deposits, lending, credit cards, payments, corporate and institutional banking, treasury services, investment banking, leasing and finance, asset-management-related products, and microfinance. RCBC also serves customers through digital channels and technology-enabled financial-inclusion initiatives. Its consumer ecosystem has included products and platforms such as RCBC Pulz, RCBC Boz, MyWallet, ATM Go and the digital financial-services platform DiskarTech. RCBC is majority-owned by the Yuchengco Group of Companies, a Philippine conglomerate with interests in insurance, education, construction, vehicle distribution and other businesses. The bank has also attracted strategic and institutional investors, including International Finance Corporation, Cathay Life Insurance and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. SMBC acquired an initial minority interest in 2021, increased its holding in 2023, and made a further investment reported in 2025. Its growth has combined acquisitions with organic expansion. RCBC acquired control of Bankard, a credit-card company, around 2000 and later consolidated substantially all of Bankard's assets. It expanded its thrift-bank network through the 2007 acquisition of Merchants Savings and Loan Association and its consolidation with RCBC Savings Bank, entered equipment leasing through the 2012 acquisition of First Malayan Leasing and Finance Corporation and Malayan Rental, and broadened rural and microfinance coverage through the acquisition of J.P. Laurel Rural Bank in 2009. In 2019, RCBC raised peso funding under a green-finance framework and received approval to merge RCBC Savings Bank into the parent bank. The brand positions itself as a full-service Philippine bank combining the scale of a universal bank with digital delivery and wider access outside traditional branch networks. Its public profile has also been shaped by significant controversies, most notably the 2016 diversion of funds connected with the Bangladesh Bank cyberheist through accounts at an RCBC branch. The bank has faced regulatory and legal consequences and has stated that it cooperated with investigations. Separately, an armed attack at an RCBC branch in Laguna in 2008 resulted in the deaths of bank employees and a security guard. In 2020 RCBC launched DiskarTech, initially offering a low-entry digital savings proposition, while continuing to develop digital banking and financial-inclusion services. In the automotive-finance market, RCBC was reported in 2024 to have been selected as one of Tesla's preferred financing partners in the Philippines, with a digitally initiated loan process. Reginaldo B. Cariaso became president and chief executive officer effective July 1, 2025, succeeding Eugene Acevedo. RCBC remains an active listed Philippine bank with retail, institutional, corporate, digital and inclusive-finance operations.
History
RCBC was founded by Alfonso Yuchengco on September 23, 1960, as Rizal Development Bank. It began in Makati, then within Rizal province, with a small staff and a single-room Ayala Avenue office. After receiving approval to operate as a commercial bank, it began using the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation name in 1963. Its early head office on Buendia Avenue made it the first commercial bank to establish a head office in the province. The bank later obtained a universal-banking license in 1989, allowing it to broaden its activities beyond conventional commercial banking. Expansion subsequently relied on subsidiaries and acquisitions. Around 2000, RCBC obtained control of Bankard, a credit-card company being divested by Equitable PCI Bank; approval for the acquisition of substantially all Bankard assets followed in 2006. In 2007, RCBC acquired Merchants Savings and Loan Association from Finman Capital and consolidated it with RCBC Savings Bank, strengthening its thrift-bank presence and branch network. The 2009 acquisition of J.P. Laurel Rural Bank in Batangas supported expansion of microfinance services in Luzon. RCBC entered equipment leasing in 2012 through First Malayan Leasing and Finance Corporation and its subsidiary Malayan Rental. In 2013, its microfinance arm, Rizal Microbank, opened a banking office made from recycled shipping containers, an initiative associated with lower-cost access and community banking. RCBC continued to develop its funding and institutional profile in the 2010s. In 2019 it raised PHP 15 billion through peso bonds under a green-finance framework described as the Philippines' first framework aligned with the ASEAN Green Bond Standards. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approved the merger of RCBC and RCBC Savings Bank in June 2019. The bank entered the digital-banking market more visibly in 2020, launching DiskarTech in July after board approval for a new digital platform through a wholly owned rural-bank structure. The initial proposition emphasized accessibility, including no minimum deposit and no maintaining-balance requirement, alongside a promotional interest rate. Following BSP digital-bank guidelines issued later in 2020, RCBC executives indicated that the question of applying for a separate digital-bank license had not been finalized. The bank's digital and inclusive-finance agenda broadened under chief executive Eugene Acevedo through initiatives including RCBC Boz, RCBC Pulz and ATM Go, which formed part of the bank's Barangayan Banking approach. Strategic investment also increased. SMBC acquired a 5 percent stake in 2021 and added 15 percentage points in 2023 through a reported PHP 27 billion capital infusion. A further reported investment in 2025 lifted SMBC's holding to 24.46 percent. RCBC's history includes serious reputational and legal challenges. In 2008, a robbery at its Laguna Industrial Science Park branch ended in the deaths of nine people at the scene and a tenth victim shortly afterward. In 2016, money stolen in the Bangladesh Bank cyberheist moved through fictitious accounts at the bank's Jupiter Street branch. The incident led to anti-money-laundering investigations and charges involving bank personnel and generated proceedings in multiple jurisdictions. In a February 2024 decision, the New York Supreme Court dismissed three claims against RCBC and named defendants for lack of personal jurisdiction but left other aspects of the case in progress. In the mid-2020s, RCBC continued to present itself as a full-service, technology-oriented Philippine bank. It was reported in November 2024 as a preferred financing partner for Tesla in the Philippines, with digital loan application and rapid approval features. Reginaldo B. Cariaso assumed the president and chief executive officer position on July 1, 2025. The bank remains listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange and operates across retail, corporate, institutional, investment, digital and inclusive-finance segments.
- 2025
New president and CEO takes office
[1]Reginaldo B. Cariaso assumes the president and CEO role on July 1.
- 2023
SMBC increases its stake
[1]SMBC acquires an additional 15 percent interest through a reported capital infusion.
- 2021
SMBC takes an initial minority stake
[1]Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation acquires a 5 percent interest in RCBC.
- 2020
DiskarTech launches
[1]RCBC introduces DiskarTech as a digital financial-services platform with an accessible savings proposition.
- 2019
Green-finance bond framework launched
[1]RCBC raises PHP 15 billion through peso bonds under an ASEAN Green Bond Standards-aligned framework.
- 2019
RCBC Savings Bank merger approved
[1]The BSP approves the merger of RCBC and its thrift-bank subsidiary.
- 2016
Bangladesh Bank cyberheist funds pass through an RCBC branch
[1]Funds connected with the cyberheist are transferred through fictitious accounts at the Jupiter Street branch.
- 2013
Container-based microfinance office opens
[1]Rizal Microbank opens a banking office made from recycled shipping containers.
- 2012
Equipment-leasing business entered
[1]RCBC acquires First Malayan Leasing and Finance Corporation and Malayan Rental.
- 2009
Rural-bank acquisition supports microfinance
[1]RCBC acquires J.P. Laurel Rural Bank in Batangas to expand microfinance operations.
Products and positioning
A full-service Philippine universal bank emphasizing digital banking, customer convenience, financial inclusion and broad corporate and institutional capabilities.
Digital banking
RCBC Pulz
RCBC's mobile banking application for retail customers, forming part of the bank's broader digital-service strategy. The platform is intended to provide everyday account access and transaction capabilities through mobile devices.
Digital banking and financial inclusion · 2020
DiskarTech
A digital financial-services platform launched by RCBC in 2020. Its initial savings proposition emphasized low barriers to entry, including no minimum deposit and no maintaining-balance requirement, and was designed to extend formal financial services through digital channels.
Credit cards
RCBC Bankard
RCBC's credit-card business, developed through its control and later acquisition of Bankard. Cards have been issued on major payment networks including Visa, Mastercard, JCB and UnionPay.
Payments and stored value
RCBC MyWallet
A wallet-oriented offering associated with RCBC's consumer and payments portfolio, intended to support convenient everyday financial transactions.
Branchless and community banking
ATM Go
A technology-enabled service associated with RCBC's Barangayan Banking and financial-inclusion efforts. It helps extend access to basic banking transactions beyond the conventional branch network.
Microfinance
Rizal Microbank
RCBC's microfinance subsidiary, established to serve smaller borrowers and communities, particularly outside the traditional urban banking network. Its expansion was supported by the acquisition of J.P. Laurel Rural Bank.
Controversies
2016
Bangladesh Bank cyberheist funds routed through RCBC
Around $81 million stolen from Bangladesh Bank was transferred through fictitious accounts at RCBC's Jupiter Street branch. The event led to anti-money-laundering investigations, charges involving bank personnel, regulatory consequences and litigation in multiple jurisdictions.
Marketing campaigns
- 2024Tesla financing partnership
Philippines
RCBC was reported as one of Tesla's preferred Philippine financing partners, with a fully digital vehicle-loan application and rapid approval process.
Outcome. Extended RCBC's consumer-finance proposition into electric-vehicle financing.
- 2020DiskarTech digital financial inclusion launch
Philippines
RCBC launched DiskarTech with a digitally delivered savings proposition emphasizing accessibility and low account-entry requirements.
Outcome. Expanded RCBC's digital and inclusion-focused brand presence.
- 2020Barangayan Banking digital-access initiatives
Philippines
Initiatives including RCBC Boz and ATM Go supported the bank's effort to bring digital and assisted banking services closer to local communities.
Outcome. Strengthened the bank's branchless and community-banking proposition.
- 2013Recycled-container microfinance banking office
Philippines
Rizal Microbank opened a banking office made from recycled shipping containers in an effort associated with lower-cost, community-oriented banking access.
Outcome. Created a distinctive physical model for microfinance and community banking.
Brand decisions
2025
Further increase SMBC ownershipM&ABackground
SMBC continued to deepen its strategic relationship with RCBC.
Action taken
A reported PHP 6.4 billion investment for an additional 4.46 percent interest lifted SMBC's ownership to 24.46 percent.
Aftermath
SMBC became an even larger minority shareholder while RCBC remained associated with the Yuchengco Group.
Additional ownership interest. 20 percent → 24.46 percent (2025)
2023
Accept increased SMBC strategic investmentM&ABackground
RCBC pursued stronger strategic ties and additional capital from an international banking partner.
Action taken
SMBC acquired an additional 15 percent interest through a reported PHP 27 billion capital infusion.
Aftermath
SMBC became a more substantial strategic shareholder in RCBC.
Capital infusion. PHP 27 billion (2023)
2020
Launch DiskarTechProduct launchBackground
RCBC responded to growing digital adoption and the need to reach customers underserved by conventional banking.
Action taken
It launched DiskarTech as a digital financial-services platform with an initially advertised 3.25 percent annual interest rate and no minimum deposit or maintaining balance.
Aftermath
DiskarTech became a visible component of RCBC's digital-banking and financial-inclusion strategy.
2019
Adopt green-finance funding frameworkStrategyBackground
RCBC sought to diversify funding while supporting sustainable-finance objectives.
Action taken
The bank raised PHP 15 billion in peso bonds under a framework aligned with the ASEAN Green Bond Standards.
Aftermath
The issuance positioned RCBC as an early Philippine issuer using a formal green-finance framework.
Peso bond issuance. PHP 15 billion (2019)
2019
Merge RCBC Savings Bank into RCBCStrategyBackground
The group sought to simplify its banking structure and combine thrift-bank capabilities with the parent universal bank.
Action taken
The BSP approved the merger of RCBC and RCBC Savings Bank.
Aftermath
The merger supported a more integrated banking platform.
2012
Enter equipment leasingM&ABackground
RCBC pursued additional non-bank financing capabilities for business customers.
Action taken
It acquired First Malayan Leasing and Finance Corporation and its subsidiary Malayan Rental.
Aftermath
RCBC added equipment leasing and rental finance to its broader financial-services portfolio.
2007
Consolidate Merchants Savings and Loan AssociationM&ABackground
RCBC aimed to increase its thrift-bank branch coverage and distribution.
Action taken
It acquired Merchants Savings and Loan Association from Finman Capital and consolidated the institution with RCBC Savings Bank.
Aftermath
The move expanded the group's thrift-banking network.
2000
Acquire control of BankardM&ABackground
RCBC sought to build a stronger credit-card presence through the acquisition of a company being divested by Equitable PCI Bank.
Action taken
RCBC acquired major control of Bankard and later received approval to acquire substantially all of its assets.
Aftermath
The transaction established Bankard as part of RCBC's credit-card and consumer-finance platform.
Recent events
RCBC announces loan-product partnerships for DiskarTech[3]
Reported:
RCBC said it would partner with lending entities to offer 11 loan products through its DiskarTech finance app after Holy Week.
Sources3 sources
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