THE Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (PamCham) recently held its 52nd Kapihan hosted by Director Teresa David-Carlos, president of Bank of Florida (BOF), one of the six subsidiaries of House of David Group (HDG).
Other subsidiaries of HDG include House of David Realty and Development Corporation (HDRDC), Mary the Queen College of Pampanga, Inc. (MQAP), D.A. Market Securities, Inc. (DMSI), House of David Investment and Management Corporation (HDIMC), and its corporate social responsibility arm House of David Foundation, Inc. (HDFI)
Speaking with the members, Carlos retells the history of BOF and how it used to be named as Rural Bank of Floridablanca, Inc. (RBFI) when it was first established on February 10, 1964, in Floridablanca, Pampanga.
Through the visionary and pioneering spirit of her father, Ladislao Sibal-David, founder and chair of the House of David Group, who was the bank’s board of directors and subsequently became president in 1971, the bank later on grew and made its own name in the countryside banking niche.
The bank’s course then evolved into bigger dimensions when she, a second generation David, a certified public accountant, and the eldest among the seven David children took her seat as a member of the board of directors in 1982.
She recounted that it was fulfilling to take the responsibility, as she actually considers it her calling, “I actually joined the bank when I was 25 years old. There’s a rule of Bangko Sentral that if you become a director, you have to have a minimum age of 25. I was working then in our family business. Then one day, my dad, whom we call ‘Papa Choi’ brought me to the bank and that was the time I’ve realized that I have to take over. I guess history repeats itself, because my son, Paolo, also recently joined the bank at the age of 25.”
With her full-time involvement in the bank’s operations as executive vice-president two years later and as president in 1987, the bank saw itself steadily fortifying its financial foundation and expanding its network to realize its mandate to assist small and medium entreprises (SMEs) in the countryside.
Thirty-one years after its first transaction at the Floridablanca branch office, the bank moved to its executive office in the City of San Fernando during the first quarter of 1994.
“It was one of the most significant moment for the bank, as it was also the time when we have transformed the Rural Bank of Floridablanca, Inc. to the more dynamic Bank of Florida, with a new corporate logo and colors that radiated the bank’s strength and stability,” Carlos said.
When Mt. Pinatubo devastated half of Pampanga with lahar back in 1991, the bank’s leadership remained steadfast, and reacted swiftly by providing its clients with alternative branches, opening its Pulilan branch in Bulacan and Capas branch in Tarlac.
“Aside from tough banking competition at the time as well as the exodus where almost all human resource are going abroad, the Mt. Pinatubo eruption was one of the most challenging time for the bank. We’re thankful that we have all surpassed it. The resiliency of the Kapampangans are really one of a kind,” the president enthused.
Carlos added that it was one of the very reason why the David Family is steadfast on giving back to the community as they remain true to their rural roots, “We continue to keep local entrepreneurs close to our hearts. It has always been our vision to spark countryside development and help our kabalens who are also the main reason why we have reached this far.”
She then cited several projects which serves as the legacy of the House of David Family to the province of Pampanga, “We have been doing a lot of outreach programs for the community. Two weeks ago, we have just awarded 200 Handog Karunungan scholarships to our students from Mary the Queen –adding up to 2,000 scholars since we started in 2013. Just recently, we donated two public school classrooms to Sta. Cruz Elementary School in Lubao, and soon in Sindalan Elementary School here in San Fernando.”
Moreover, Carlos disclosed that several other branches will be put up in the province, “BOF is actually the 3rd largest bank in Central Luzon in terms of resources. We’re now on our 52nd year, with 16 branches –14 in Pampanga, one in Capas and one in Pulilan. As we continue to expand, right now, what we want is to saturate Pampanga first, hence we’re adding on more branches here in the province. We’ll soon have one in Porac. We’re reviewing other towns in Pampanga where we don’t have a branch yet,” she said.
During the Kapihan’s open forum, Carlos gave few advices for the businessmen and business owners, “When you do business, you have to think of all the stakeholders and not only the business itself, because it’s the people, the human capital, the human resource, that will make you. You have to always make the community feel something, regardless if they’re a client or not. And of course, always remember to give back to the community.