CARD SME Bank opens Vigan branch
Following its branch opening in General Santos City, CARD SME Bank opens another branch this time in the City of Vigan to serve Ilocanos, on Monday, September 19, 2016. This is part of its mission of bringing bank services closer to more Filipinos.
As a thrift bank, it offers Ilocanos various banking products and services ranging from deposit products, housing and car loan, agri-loans, and business loans for micro, small, and medium enterprises.
“Our effort to open more branches in different provinces is our thrust in promoting financial inclusion in the country,” said President and CEO Aristeo Dequito. “We want our unbanked clients to have a good banking experience with us,” Dequito added.
CARD SME Bank is a member institution of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI) supporting the latter’s mission in eradicating poverty in the country. Its products and services are designed to assist micro, small to medium-scale enterprises in the country to enable them to increase their productivity and competitiveness.
Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip, the founder and managing director of CARD MRI, shared their dream 30 years ago of establishing a bank that is owned and led by the socioeconomically challenged members. He said, “It has been realized not only with one bank but with three, and CARD SME Bank is one of them.”
“Aside from financial assistance, CARD SME Bank through another institution of CARD MRI – CMDI, offers social development services like Credit with Education (CwE) that would eventually help our clients to be more responsible individuals,” said Dequito. CwE is a program developed to train CARD clients every week on financial and business matters.
The Vigan branch will be catering to 1,806 initial members from Vigan City and Caoayan who are graduate clients of CARD, Inc. and are set to access CARD SME Bank’s products and services. “We are thankful to CARD SME Bank because it can now provide needed assistance to expand our business,” said Generosa Acas, a member of CARD for eight years. CARD, Inc. is a microfinance NGO and part of CARD MRI’s mission in improving the lives of Filipino families.
It is also expected to increase its membership to 2,200 before 2016 ends. According to Dequito, CARD SME Bank is also open for non-members of CARD MRI who need additional capital to grow their enterprise or avail themselves of its other products and services.
According to Dequito, CARD SME Bank started to operate as a thrift bank on September 2011 covering the Calabarzon region. In its five years of operation, CARD SME Bank has already increased its presence in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and is now serving more than 330,000 families in the country.
Dequito also shared that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has already approved its proposed expansion plans for 2017 in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Palawan and Zamboanga.
The 18th bank branch building, patterned to Spanish houses centuries ago, is located inside the Vigan Heritage Village, Vigan, Ilocos Sur in front of Syquia Mansion. Syquia Mansion is one of the historical sites built during the Spanish colonial period and served as the home of the late President Elipidio Quirino.