Temenos today announced that Cebuana Lhuillier Bank, one of the most dynamic rural banks in the Philippines, has selected Temenos to modernize its core banking platform, helping the bank, which serves seven million Filipinos, to quickly launch new banking products and scale efficiently. With Temenos, Cebuana Lhuillier Bank aims to expand its product offerings and grow to more than 11 million customers over five years.

Cebuana Lhuillier Bank provides credit and savings accounts to individuals, micro, small and medium enterprises to grow their personal or business finances. With more than half of the Philippines’ 113 million population living in rural areas, banks such as Cebuana Lhuillier Bank play a crucial role in serving the financial needs of those residing in remote and underserved areas of the country.

Temenos’ core banking platform gives Cebuana Lhuillier Bank flexibility and agility to manage customer accounts and transactions with greatly improved performance and efficiency, and offer personalized products, faster and at lower cost. It means Cebuana Lhuillier Bank can introduce affordable new lending products, such as motorcycle loans, to attract new customers while also growing sustainably. The solution will be implemented by Temenos’ delivery partner, Orion Innovation.

Orion provides a suite of digital services and technology solutions that help banks modernize and transform their legacy systems and design and develop next-generation products that allow the banks to create new business opportunities. Being a Temenos multi-regional partner, Orion specializes in delivering full-service implementation & integration capabilities in core banking, payments and digital banking solutions to Temenos clients across the globe.

As a regulated financial institution, supervised by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Temenos solution also assists the bank to adapt more easily to changing market conditions and local regulatory requirements. Such changes previously required lengthy and complex manual processes.

While Cebuana Lhuillier Bank will initially deploy the Temenos solution in its on-premise datacenter, the cloud-native solution gives the bank the flexibility to easily migrate to the cloud in future.

Jean Henri Lhuillier, Cebuana Lhuillier Bank Vice Chairman, commented: “Cebuana Lhuillier’s commitment to financial inclusion remains steadfast. In a nation where access to reliable financial services is paramount, this collaboration strengthens our resolve to provide better services, products, and opportunities for Filipinos to create meaningful change.”

Dennis Valdes, Cebuana Lhuillier Bank President, added: “The financial industry is continuously evolving due to rapid technological advancements. Our clients' needs are changing, and it is our responsibility to not only meet but exceed those expectations. This alliance marks as a testament to our commitment to embrace innovation and redefine the banking experience for our valued customers.”

Ramki Ramakrishnan, Managing Director – APAC, Temenos said, “We are delighted to welcome Cebuana Lhuillier Bank as the newest member of our Temenos family in the Philippines. With a robust presence in the country, our partnership with Cebuana Lhuillier Bank reinforces Temenos' position as a compelling choice for banks across various sizes and segments, including rural and thrift banks. We are everyone's banking platform. We eagerly anticipate supporting Cebuana Lhuillier Bank's journey towards greater success.”

Anoop Gala, Global Head of Financial Services, Orion Innovation, added: “We are thrilled to embark on Cebuana Lhuillier Bank’s core modernization program in the Philippines. Our comprehensive offerings around Temenos, coupled with our regional presence in the Philippines, position us well to ensure a successful core banking transformation. This deal strengthens and builds on our core offering along with Temenos and aligns with our strategy to accelerate digital transformation initiatives for our clients.”

Temenos is consistently recognized as the market leader in core banking software by IBS Intelligence, including in the most recent IBSi Sales League Table 2023.