CARDee, the official mascot of CARD Bank, joins CARD MRI executives and
heads, including CARD MRI Founder and Chairman Emeritus Dr. Jaime Aristotle
B. Alip (2nd from the left), to commemorate the 26th founding anniversary of the
country’s first microfinance-oriented rural bank held at CARD Bank Maharlika
Branch in San Pablo City, Laguna.
CARD Bank,
Inc., a microfinance-oriented rural bank of CARD
Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), celebrated its 26th founding
anniversary and savings
month with the theme
“Conquering a new frontier
towards more inclusive financial services” on September 1, 2023.
“CARD Bank
has broken barriers since
it has started. On its 26th
year, we are gearing up to
conquering new frontiers
while staying committed
to our mission of poverty
eradication. We will continue doing what we do best:
serving the most vulnerable and socioeconomically
challenged communities
through our innovative
products and services,”
said CARD MRI Founder
and Chairman Emeritus
Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip
during the event.
The said activity was also attended by
CARD MRI Managing
Director Aristeo A. Dequito, CARD Bank President and CEO Marivic M.
Austria, Senior Management Advisers Dr. Dolores
M. Torres and Lorenza dT.
Bañez, members of the
Executive and Management Committee, Board
of Directors, staff, and clients.
CARD Bank,
Inc.’s origin can be traced
from the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Inc. (CARD, Inc.),
which was organized on
December 10, 1986, by
Dr. Alip with other 14 rural
development practitioners
as a social development
foundation through responsible financial services.
Within a decade,
it has successfully formalized its micro-lending operations by transforming
itself into a formal financial
institution and obtained its
license from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as a
microfinance-oriented rural bank that aims to provide the poor with diverse
financial and non-financial
services.
CARD MRI Managing Director Aristeo A.
Dequito also shared that
26 years ago they had no
experience in banking.
“Without any prior experience in banking,
we pursued our dream
of opening a bank that is
owned by the women we
serve. The idea of a microfinance-oriented rural
bank was groundbreaking. But since we started
our baking operations until
now, we have proven that
anything is possible, and
we have surmounted all
the hurdles that have arisen along the way,” he said.
“I am confident
that if we work together
and trust each other, we
will be able to overcome
all obstacles and boundaries. Aside from embracing
new ideas, let’s remember
our roots and where we
began. Our experiences
and back-to-basics concepts will also help us succeed,” he added.
M e a n w h i l e ,
CARD Bank President and
CEO Austria said that the
bank is not only serving
CARD MRI communities
but is also valuing both
micro and walk-in clients
to continue to foster financial inclusivity across the
country.
Throughout the
years, CARD Bank has
continued to uphold its
commitment in empowering women by providing
them with continuous access to financial, microinsurance, educational, livelihood, health, and other
capacity-building services
that will eventually transform them into contributing
members of society who
care about the environment and their community.
As of August
2023, CARD Bank has
100 branches and 540
branch-lite units across
the country serving more
than 4.1 million clients with
a 99% repayment rate.
To know more
about CARD Bank, Inc.
visit its official website at
https://cardbankph.com
