BIZ BUZZ: New general counsel at BSP?

After months of searching, it looks like the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may have found its new general counsel in Roberto Figueroa.

Figueroa, who was general counsel of HSBC, has already been receiving congratulatory messages from fellow lawyers, although the BSP is yet to make any appointment official.

In case he does land the plum job then the BSP will be the better for it as he comes with decades of experience in the financial sector.

Figueroa, who graduated from the University of the Philippines with degrees in Political Science (valedictorian and magna cum laude) and Law, was a Capital Markets Associate in Cadwalader Wickersham and Taft LLP and vice president of the General Counsel’s Office for Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York.

He has a Master of Laws from the Harvard Law School and a Certificate in Public International Law from the Hague Academy of International Law. He also taught at the UP College of Law.

If the early congratulations are warranted then Figueroa will replace longtime central bank lawyer Elmore Capule, who was promoted to deputy governor for the corporate services sector of the BSP in October last year.

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The general counsel position has been vacant since then, with the duties temporarily taken care of by an officer in charge.

Based on the BSP’s job posting, the general counsel is in charge mainly of high-level technical/legal advisory to the governor, monetary board members, deputy governors and other BSP officials on policies, functions, regulations and laws affecting the mandates and operations of the BSP.

A difficult and crucial job, for sure, but based on his impressive resume alone, Figueroa should prove more than capable of handling it.