Manila, Philippines – IBM announced the completion of a core banking modernisation project for Philippine National Bank, aimed at improving the bank’s operational resilience, system performance, and security. The initiative was delivered with consulting firm CROZ and led by IBM Expert Labs.
The two-year modernization project involved upgrading PNB’s core banking system from IBM z/VSE on z14 to the IBM z/OS platform running on IBM z16. The bank also implemented IBM Resource Access Control Facility (RACF) to strengthen mainframe security and system controls.
According to IBM, the modernisation resulted in several operational improvements for the bank. Production slowdowns, which previously occurred twice a month, were eliminated, while nightly end-of-day pre-processing validation time was reduced from five hours to two hours. Batch processing time was also shortened by nearly 75%, from 13 hours to three hours.
IBM said the phased implementation approach was designed to minimise operational risks and maintain continuity during the migration from the legacy z/VSE environment. The project also included knowledge transfer and training for PNB’s internal teams to independently manage and operate the upgraded system.
“Ensuring the reliability and resiliency of the bank’s operations is central to PNB’s commitment to enhancing the customer experience as market expectation and regulatory requirements evolve. PNB’s 27 years of partnership with IBM and collaboration with CROZ are critical to addressing that imperative while enabling continuous innovation across our business products, services and processes,” said Constantino Yap, SVP and Group Head for Digital Channel Management and Innovation at PNB.
“Aside from modernising PNB’s core infrastructure, the IBM-CROZ team shared their z/OS knowledge and assisted the Bank’s z/VSE mainframe technical support personnel, who were keeping the lights on with the z/VSE core banking system while implementing and learning the modern z/OS operating system and built-in tools”, said Michael Morallos, FSVP and Group Head for Information Technology, and Cesar Buhay, Project Director at PNB.
“Successful modernisation depends as much on partnership and execution as it does on technology. Working closely with IBM and PNB, we ensured a smooth transition while empowering the bank’s teams to build confidently on their modernised platform,” said Kresimir Mudrovcic, Board Member at CROZ.
“Financial institutions across the Philippines face the imperative to modernise mission-critical infrastructure while maintaining the stability and security their customers depend on. This collaboration with PNB and CROZ demonstrates how IBM is helping BFSIs in strengthening operational resilience while building a foundation for future innovation,” said Leo Capinpin, Country General Manager and Technology Leader at IBM Philippines.
IBM said the project reflects how financial institutions are modernising core banking infrastructure to improve resilience, operational continuity, and long-term business sustainability.
