Mr. Michael O. De Jesus, the new president, and CEO of the state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) said that DBP plans to collaborate closely with the National Government to expand the country’s infrastructure development program to boost the competitiveness of the local economy. A senior and experienced banker, Mr. De Jesus promises to strengthen and expand the Bank’s engagement in infrastructure funding to help the country maintain its expanding pace.

De Jesus, an American-educated and trained banker with extensive experience in corporate banking and finance, was a senior executive at many top-tier universal banks in the country before he got the nomination to be the ninth DBP President and CEO. DBP is the country’s eighth-largest bank by assets and provides finance to four critical sectors of the economy: infrastructure and logistics, micro, small, and medium businesses, the environment, and social services and community development. It has a network of 146 branches and branch-lite units, many of which are located in outlying and underserved regions.

DBP will continue to invest in high-growth businesses like telecommunications and public infrastructure, and those that assist food security, agricultural modernization, renewable energy, and economic inclusion, according to De Jesus. He also claimed that DBP would look at digitization to increase customer touchpoints and client engagement.