MANILA - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed a former executive of BDO as the newest member of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' Monetary Board (MB).

Veteran banker Walter Wassmer will join the BSP's monetary policy-setting body, replacing former member Bruce Tolentino, who resigned on June 30.

Wassmer will serve until July 2026, or the remainder of the term of Tolentino, who was an appointee of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Walter Wassmer brings with him decades of banking experience which will prove invaluable to the policy-making body and the decisions of the Monetary Board,” said BSP Governor Eli  Remolona Jr.

Wassmer was a former senior executive vice president of BDO, the country's largest bank. He also served at Far East Bank & Trust Co., UnionBank of the Philippines, Bancom Finance Corp., and IFC Leasing and Acceptance Corp, the BSP said. 

He joins BSP Governor and MB Chairman Remolona, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, Benjamin Diokno, Romeo Bernardo and Rosalia De Leon in the BSP’s highest policy-making body.

Malacañang earlier said it accepted the resignations of Tolentino and fellow Duterte appointee Anita Linda Aquino from the Monetary Board effective June 30.

The central bank was recently rocked by a controversy over alleged "ghost employees."