THE FISCAL YEAR IN RETROSPECT
BAIPHIL looks back to the numerous achievements and successes during fiscal year 2015–2016
It’s been a memorable Diamond Jubilee for the Bankers Institute of the Philippines ( BAIPHIL) as it moved forward to achieving its long-term objective to be the training Institute of choice for professional bankers in the Philippines and Asia-Pacific.
With the leadership of its Board of Directors, headed by outgoing president Atty. Rhoneil S. Fajardo, the organization achieved a number of successes under its B.E.S.T. strategic roadmap. B.E.S.T. stands for Build, Engage, Strengthen and Transform, and constitutes the pillars which guided the board in its decisions throughout the year. As BAIPHIL changes its administration and enters a new fiscal year, a retrospective on some of the organization’s most noteworthy accomplishments during the past 12 months is appropriate. Build
A long-cherished dream was finally realized last June 14 with the inauguration of BAIPHIL’s new office at Unit 2103, The Peak Tower, Leviste St., Makati City. Important to BAIPHIL’s ability to accomplish its mandate is having a physical location which is accessible to its stakeholders and, at the same time, capable of serving as a venue for seminars and the regular activities of the members and officers.
“We’ve moved from Pasay City to the financial district of Makati City, bringing the Institute physically closer to most of its members. The new office is a perfect fit for BAIPHIL’s requirements as we included a training room that can accommodate 25 persons, allowing small group seminars which would not usually be practical to hold in a hotel,” Fajardo said.
With its modern design and equipment, the new office also better represents BAIPHIL as a premiere learning institute for bankers.
Apart from the physical infrastructure, however, the Board also focused on improving the content and process of offering its training programs.
In this regard, the first BAIPHIL Training Needs Analysis (TNA) survey in recent history was conducted with industry members. This was to enable the Institute to prepare a learning program for the coming years that will be consistent with what the industry members find most relevant and useful to the achievement of their banks’ business and organizational goals.
In addition, groundwork has been laid for the creation of Certification Courses. These are specialized and holistic development programs intended to uplift the professional standards of banking in the country. The Board initiated discussions with some of its regional and global counterparts to explore partnership arrangements towards this end. Engage
No institution could have reached 75 years and remain active and energetic, without the deep involvement of its various stakeholders. For BAIPHIL, its stakeholders would include its employees, its institutional and individual members, its partners and the public.
While the whole year was practically devoted to strengthening the ties that bind the Institute, a celebration of the organization’s enduring relationships was commemorated during the BAIPHIL Week held on March 7 to 12, which culminated with the Diamond Jubilee Night Pasasalamat!”.
To acknowledge the secretariat Institute’s successes, as well as commitment, the Board established and improved their compensation
Meanwhile, engagement with improved through several initiatives, and networking activities that strengthened friendships. General held each month and the list of BAIPHIL’s a good mix of interesting personalities the BSP. Speakers included Bangko Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Espenilla, Jr., BSP Deputy Governor Davao City Mayor and now President Congresswoman now Vice President Francis Escudero, Engr. Dado Banatao, and Atty. Rodolfo Fernandez.
BAIPHIL also continued with information exchange among organization’s various publications, such as the BAIPHIL Market Watch, BAIPHIL on the Go, BAIPHIL Skills Empowerment Series and BAIPHIL LegReg Updates.
What distinguished these publications this past fiscal year was their availability on digital format through the BAIPHIL website. This is a first for the organization, which allowed it to broaden its reach in a cost-effective manner.
“These publications provide the venue for us to continually update our members not only of legal, regulatory and market developments, but also on leadership and other soft skills that they can use for their professional growth. It also allowed members and partner organizations to gain wider and easier access to various BAIPHIL updates and activities, upcomin seminars and committee programs and plans for the year,” Fajardo said.
BAIPHIL also expanded its presence through its participation in the ASEAN Banking Council Meeting held in Singapore last June 2015 as well as in the Association of Asia-Pacific Banking Institutes (APABI) Conference held in Delhi, India last September. The conferences provided the opportunity for BAIPHIL to establish important contacts with colleagues across the region, such as the Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers, Indian Institute of Banking and Finance and Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance, for potential partnerships. With last year’s theme of Building Capacity Towards
Financial Inclusion and Integration, a key focus for BAIPHIL was advancing financial inclusion and literacy of the general public through the Financial Education Program (FEP), which is conducted in partnership with the BSP. BAIPHIL held the 4th Festival of Bank Chorales in December 2015 to raise funds and awareness for the seven FEP runs held last year, where hundreds of people, composed of parents and teachers of public school children, the urban poor, college students, and OFWs and their beneficiaries, took part.
Apart from the FEPs, BAIPHIL also conducted a Social Entrepreneurship seminar with World Economic Forum 2011 Social Entrepreneur for Asia Mark Ruiz as guest speaker. He talked about how social entrepreneurship can become Good Business and shared the lessons, challenges and opportunities he learned in making social enterprises work, particularly as president of MicroVentures (Hapinoy). Strengthen
With 75 years already to its history, the Board realized that it needed to end the fiscal year with BAIPHIL stronger than when they first assumed office. In this regard, various housekeeping and cost- saving initiatives were done to improve on the Institute’s procedures, systems and infrastructure.
BAIPHIL’s organizational structure was strengthened with the hiring of a dedicated Training Head to better address the Institute’s primary mandate on uplifting the professional standards in banking, particularly since BAIPHIL has been recognized by the BSP as the training arm of the industry. In addition, another staff was taken in to assist in the administrative aspects.
The visibility of the Institute was also enhanced with newspaper supplements that featured BAIPHIL’s history and its critical role in the development of the Philippine banking industry. In addition, the digital version of BAIPHIL on the Go! and other publications, as well as improvements to its website, made BAIPHIL more accessible to more people.
BAIPHIL’s updated logo which was launched last June also symbolized a new look and fresh beginning for the organization, as it began the countdown to its centennial. Transform
In many ways, BAIPHIL’s Diamond Jubilee was a transformational year for the organization. Changes were initiated and made to future proof BAIPHIL to preserve its legacy and ensure it achieves its long-term objective.
For one, the Board worked on improving the finances of BAIPHIL with the rationalization of its training and
membership fee structure. The measure was approved by the institutional members and allowed the organization to have more stable financials, and dedicate investment in its people and training and course certification programs.
Another major change last year was the reorganization of BAIPHIL’s Education and Training platform. While BAIPHIL still maintained a centralized structure to handle training logistics, the development of seminar offerings was decentralized with the creation of specialized Course Committees each led by at least one director and dedicated chairperson, and composed of SME members and champions.
Notwithstanding that fiscal year 2015– 2016 was a transitional year with the new setup, the reorganization proved successful with 58 seminars conducted and a total of 3,300 participants.
Most of the seminars were regulatory driven, and the BSP has been very supportive in providing the trainers who are the authorities in the new regulations. BAIPHIL was also fortunate to receive the full support of other industry organizations, such as the Philippine Clearing House Corp. and the Credit Information Corp. With these partnerships, BAIPHIL stands confident of being able to provide the industry with up-to-date knowledge and skills in the latest banking products, regulations, and developments that come with the continuous evolution of the industry. Members can also expect BAIPHIL to develop new courses that would enable them to respond to the ever-changing and ever-growing needs of their clientele.
“All these, of course, would not have been possible without the support, hard work and vision of our past leaders and members,” said Fajardo. “BAIPHIL is what it is today because members, even those who have already retired from the industry, continue to contribute and be involved in the Institute’s activities. They have taken BAIPHIL’s education advocacy as their own personal mission, to give back to the industry which has nurtured their professional growth and personal development.”
With the achievements during the past fiscal year built on the successes of three quarters of a century, BAIPHIL enters its 76th year with its head held up high, determined to continue with its mandate and resolute in its bid to challenge itself to grow amid the constantly shifting paradigms and landscapes in the banking industry.