Officer, Mr. Mike Silva, came on tour earlier on to study the essential aspects of the banking operations and management of the host bank. The Board of Directors of CBP, led by its Chairman, Dr. Romeo Valdez, arrived later on the scheduled four-day learning visit.
“We take immense pleasure to be hosting the study visit of the Coop Bank of Palawan, and it’s an out-of-the-ordinary opportunity for us to give the delegates an insight into the banking operations of FICOBank, which have come a long way over the past years,” Chairman Flordelino Almazan said during the meet and greet session.
Before the 10-person delegates were given detailed briefings on the background, management and best banking practices of FICOBank, they were invited to tour around Central and Southern Isabela and to take a site visit at the famous Magat Dam—a large rock-fill dam that is one of the largest dams in the Philippines and has two primary purposes, as a source of irrigation water and as a provider of hydroelectric power. The Bank’s Security Officer, Mr. Jimmy Padernilla, accompanied the visitors.
The study visit featured a presentation on the overview of the operations of FICOBank by Cong. Herminio G. Ocampo, the Bank’s resident consultant. The study also included various lecture-discussions on the most efficient and effective ways of managing credit and microfinance operations, delinquency and assets acquired, centralized fund, marketing and performance incentive programs, human resource development, information and communication technology, and internal control and audit, which were handled by the different department heads of the Bank. Moreover, the operation of FICOBank Foundation and its relationship to the Bank was also presented.
Reflecting together on various banking issues, sharing points of view, discovering ways of seeing things, solving problems or simply considering solutions made both the hosts and visitors feel more like they were on a common space.
For CBP, this study visit brought added value in terms of: (i) getting new stimulus for development provided by the expertise and experiences of FICOBank; and (ii) enhancing the motivation and confidence of its directors, officers and staff. On the other hand, for hosting this study visit of CBP, FICOBank gained prominence as the learning “Mecca” of cooperative banks in the country. |
