The bank was established by
Alfonso Yuchengco on September 23, 1960, as
Rizal Development Bank, a small development bank based in
Makati, which was then part of
Rizal province. It initially operated with 15 employees at a one-room office along
Ayala Avenue. In 2006, the acquisition of almost all assets of Bankard was approved. In 2007, RCBC acquired the thrift bank Merchants Savings and Loan Association Inc. from Finman Capital Corp. and consolidated it with its own thrift bank RCBC Savings Bank with the aim for increasing its branch network. In 2009, RCBC acquired J.P. Laurel Rural Bank in
Batangas to expand microfinance operations to
Luzon. On October 28, 2013, RCBC's microfinance subsidiary, Rizal Microbank opened the very first banking office made of recycled shipping container vans in the Philippines. On 2012, RCBC acquired First Malayan Leasing and Finance Corporation and its subsidiary Malayan Rental to enter equipment leasing business. In 2019, RCBC raised ₱ 15 billion in Peso Bond, the Philippines’ first green finance framework under the ASEAN Green Bond Standards. In June 2019, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) approved RCBC's merger with its thrift bank RCBC Savings Bank. In early 2020, RCBC's board approved a new digital banking platform through the creation of its wholly owned rural bank. In July 2020, RCBC launched its digital bank DiskarTech offering an interest rate of 3.25% per annum with no minimum deposit and maintaining balance. After the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released the guidelines for
digital banks in December 2020, RCBC's executives said that they have not yet finalized a decision if they will apply for a separate digital bank license. In 2021, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) acquires a 5% stake in the Bank CEO
Eugene Acevedo launched RCBC Boz mobile application, the ATM Go as part of RCBC’s Barangayan Banking, digital banking platform and RCBC Pulz, among others. 2023 saw SMBC acquire an additional 15% stake through a PhP27 billion capital infusion. On 24 November 2024, it was reported that RCBC has been chosen of one of the preferred financing partners of
Tesla in the Philippines, offering a fully digital loan application experience to customers with approval within a single day. Effective July 1, 2025, Reginaldo B. Cariaso assumed the position of President and CEO. The purchase of an additional 4.46 percent interest in 2025 lifts SMBC’s ownership from 20 percent to 24.46 percent through a P6.4 billion investment. ==See also==