Consumer protection is a fundamental responsibility for China Bank. We are committed to protecting and upholding consumers’ rights, including their right to information about our products and services, their right to data privacy and transaction security, their right to fair treatment, and their right to redress.
China Bank values its stakeholders and is committed to earning and maintaining their trust. Amid the challenges of the evolving business landscape, the Bank continues to protect its stakeholders’ interests and rights by ensuring the security of transactions, understanding their concerns and providing excellent service.
The Bank is committed to protecting and upholding consumers’ rights, including the right to information, right to data privacy and transaction security, and right to fair treatment and right to redress.
Customer advocacy is the foundation of our Customer Service and Consumer Protection frameworks. We work hard to make our customers happy and engage them to know what they need, how we can help them, and how we can create great customer experiences. By advocating for our customers, we earn their loyalty and enjoy the reward of mutual advocacy.
We help consumers make an informed choice about our products and services. We provide clear, understandable, and accurate information through easily accessible communication channels: website, social media, product brochures, materials displayed in our branches, and print, broadcast, and online advertisements. Our front liners are adequately trained to answer questions about our products and services, explain the risks that certain products and services carry, and advise consumers on financial matters. At the same time, we promote financial literacy through webinars and onsite events, our social media platforms, and our financial blog on the Chinabank website.
We make it easy and convenient for anyone to get the answers and the assistance they need from us through various channels. Our Customer Contact Center (CCC) headed by the Chief Consumer Assistance Officer, handles all our customer assistance channels. Meanwhile, our Service Standards & Quality Department, together with customer-facing units, ensures that important client feedback are captured and communicated with the product and/or service owners.
In 2024, CCC recorded 89% higher customer interactions to 662,649, mostly by Chinabank Hotline and email. Inquiries and requests continued to be the bulk of these customer interactions, accounting for 59% and 33%, respectively. Complaints accounted for only 5%. Majority of the reported concerns pertained to mobile banking and credit cards, in line with the increase in the number of our mobile banking users and credit card holders.
Seeing customer complaints as opportunities to improve our services, we endeavor to address them quickly and properly – within the turnaround time set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and to our customers’ satisfaction. In 2024, we continued to achieve a high resolution rate: 99% of simple complaints and 98% of complex complaints resolved within BSP’s standards.
We are committed to building customer trust by upholding data privacy laws. Our Data Privacy Office (DPO), led by our Group Data Protection Officer (GDPO), is primarily responsible for ensuring Chinabank Group’s compliance with the Data Privacy Act and relevant laws, as well as for promoting a strong culture of privacy and security group-wide. We also adhere with the five pillars of compliance with existing data privacy regulations:
In 2024, we continued to strengthen our DPO, adding more privacy officers, enforcing secure access controls, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations. As we embrace new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), we see to it that we mitigate risks and comply with regulations. Our DPO was crucial in the development of the governance and foundational documentation on Chinabank’s Data Governance and AI programs. In addition, our GDPO was elected during the year as the banking sector’s Vice Representative in the National Privacy Council, which works closely with the National Privacy Commission in policy making and consultation. This development puts Chinabank in a good position to play a crucial role in further developing data privacy standards and practices for the banking sector as a whole.
We have a comprehensive Cybersecurity Program that is aligned with government and industry best security practices that provides a safe and secure banking environment for our customers. Our Information Security and Data Privacy Division (ISDPD) is responsible and accountable for the Cyber Security Program that continuously monitors and protects our systems against cybersecurity threats. Our IT Team led by the Chief Information Officer, works hand in hand with the ISDPD and the Risk Management Group in managing and implementing the Bank’s IT security controls effectively.
To fortify our strong cyber security foundation and defense, various security assessments and penetration testing of our IT systems are regularly conducted by both our in-house cyber security team and independent parties. At the same time, as part of our continuous effort to establish an information security culture, all new employees are mandated to undergo an information security and data privacy trainings prior to accessing our IT systems, while all current employees undergo annual information security e-learning.
In 2024, we: