FICOBank Holds Its 2015 Mid-Year Performance
Assessment and Five-Year Planning

From the past to the present, and certainly all the way through the future, the Bank held/ holds and will continue to be holding its review-cum-planning ritual, as a reflection of its extreme penchant and intense passion for the development and growth of its banking business. Without a speck of doubt, this is what differentiates FICOBank from its peer banks in the coop/rural banking industry.

On September 30 to October 3, 2015, at the Zen Hotel in Santiago City, a quite big and cohesive group of analysts, strategists, planners, policymakers, executives, managers and other key officers of FICOBank gathered themselves together to assess the accomplishments of the Bank for the first half of the year, and to draw necessary action plans that will ensure the attainment of its financial targets and non-financial objectives at the end of the full year. Most importantly, the group collectively joined their hands, heads and hearts in a five-year planning session to chart the future they want to create for FICOBank, as the Bank’s present way of doing business is significantly affected by the disruptive business environment that changed the banking industry’s competitive landscape to a large extent. And, conforming to the tone of the undertakings set by the Chairman of the Board, Mr. Wilfredo DC. Antonio, in his Opening Remarks, the twin activities—the Mid-Year Performance Assessment and the Five-Year Planning—were successfully carried out, as they should be, by the presentors, participants, consultants/facilitators, technical working group and the event management team.

As a preliminary task to the mid-year performance review and planning, a first-round assessment of the Bank’s performance for the first semester vis-à-vis its plans and programs was undertaken, both by the Operation & Banking Services Group (OBSG) and the Treasury & Corporate Services Group (TCSG), in separate schedules and venues. The result-based achievements of the 28 operating units under the OBSG and the impact-based accomplishments of the 12 departments/offices under the TCSG (for the fist half of the year), to include their action plans for the second half of 2015, were presented by their respective heads, Mr. Emilio U. Rico Jr. and Atty. Hubert E. Molina, in the plenary hall. The growth trend and analysis of the Bank’s six-month financial performance were also presented in the early hours by the Head of the Accounting Department, Mr. Gilbert A. Galope.

As a preliminary task to the mid-year performance review and planning, a first-round assessment of the Bank’s performance for the first semester vis-à-vis its plans and programs was undertaken, both by the Operation & Banking Services Group (OBSG) and the Treasury & Corporate Services Group (TCSG), in separate schedules and venues. The result-based achievements of the 28 operating units under the OBSG and the impact-based accomplishments of the 12 departments/offices under the TCSG (for the fist half of the year), to include their action plans for the second half of 2015, were presented by their respective heads, Mr. Emilio U. Rico Jr. and Atty. Hubert E. Molina, in the plenary hall. The growth trend and analysis of the Bank’s six-month financial performance were also presented in the early hours by the Head of the Accounting Department, Mr. Gilbert A. Galope.

The virtuoso presentation of the current State and Condition of FICOBank by the President & CEO, Mr. Herminio G. Ocampo, was a prelude to the Bank’s Five-Year Planning. Professor Vicente R. Valdellon Jr. and Mr. Jowell L. Tan, President and Vice President, respectively, of the VRV Management and Property Consultancy Inc., ably facilitated the planning activity, with four issue-set workshops. The first issue-set exposition, workshop and presentations by the four workshop groups dealt on the Bank’s “Paths of Growth.” The second set focused on “Funding the Growth.” The third issue-set wrestled with the exposition and discussions of the “Wider World Relevant to the Bank,” while the last one sorted out the “Critical Systems to Achieve Growth.”

The Bank was indeed successful in holding its 2015 Mid-Year Performance Assessment and the Five-Year Planning, as the twin events’ specific intents—(i) to keep the operation of the Bank on track, in a way and at a level that can assure the achievement of its financial targets and the accomplishment of its non-financial objectives at year-end; (ii) to identify the external factors/pressures that have impact on banking, learn from the best practices of the global cooperative banks and other coop-based organizations, and take notice of the changes to watch for opportunity seeking; (iii) to determine the paths for the business growth of the Bank and the resources needed to fund its growth initiatives; and (iv) to settle on the critical systems (i.e., centralization of lending operation, new mandates of the branches, integration of digital banking, investment-holdings company, project investments, organization of the FICOBank Group, new organizational set-up, etc.) to achieve the Bank’s future growth—were all realized. On top of these, the Bank was able to finally come up with its bolder, but doable, five-year plan, which shall be dubbed as FICOBank 2020.

Ergo, the Vice Chairman of the Board, Mr. Ernesto C. Gamboa, in his Synthesis and Closing Remarks, aptly stated that FICOBank is envisioned in year 2020 to be “The best-of-breed community bank that grows beyond the business of banking.”