Bank of the Philippine Islands is testing artificial intelligence tools to assist with underwriting decisions for several types of loans, according to chief executive Jose Teodoro Limcaoco.
The bank is currently piloting AI-assisted underwriting for auto loans, credit cards, and personal loans as part of a broader effort to streamline lending processes while maintaining risk controls.
AI Used To Identify Small Business Borrowers
BPI has already deployed AI to help identify small business activity among customers who originally opened personal bank accounts.
The system analyzes patterns in account inflows and outflows to determine whether the transactions resemble those of a business rather than a salaried individual.
According to Limcaoco, this approach has significantly expanded the bank’s lending to smaller enterprises.
BPI said the initiative helped grow its small and medium enterprise lending portfolio eightfold over the past three years.
Potential Expansion Into Other Loan Categories
Limcaoco discussed the bank’s AI initiatives during the Asian Banking and Finance Summit 2026 held on March 10.
He said once the technology and processes are fully established, the same AI tools could be extended to other types of consumer lending.
Housing loans are among the areas where the bank expects AI-assisted analysis could help accelerate application reviews and approvals.
Human Verification Still Required
Despite the introduction of AI tools, the bank said traditional responsible lending checks remain in place.
Customers flagged by AI as potential small business borrowers must still provide documentation such as business permits and other verification materials before any loan approval is finalized.
BPI said the goal is to combine automated analysis with existing compliance processes to improve efficiency without reducing due diligence in lending decisions.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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