CARD Bank expands in Cotabato

Driven by its mission of creating a vehicle for assets ownership for the poor, CARD Bank, Inc. opened its 76th branch at Masagana Highway, Kabacan, North Cotabato.

“By bringing this formal banking services closer to the marginalized sector, we, at CARD Bank, are certain that they will gain control over their own resources and over their own destiny,” President and CEO Marivic Austria said.

In the recent data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in June 2016, 589 cities and municipalities in the country remain unbanked. Forty one percent of these are in Mindanao.

Envisioning a poverty-free county, President and CEO Austria said that CARD Bank continues to expand in unbanked towns and islands in the country. “Before the year ends, CARD Bank will open another branch in Kidapawan to reinforce its presence in Mindanao.”

In an interview,Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip, founder and managing director of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI), to which CARD Bank is one of the member institutions, said that the continuous expansion of the institution in Mindanao is parallel to what the current administration is doing in terms of eradicating poverty not only in Mindanao, but nationwide.

The newly established bank will also cater to clients from nearby municipalities. CARD Bank offers accessible banking services for loans and savings along with different social development projects such as health and education services, through the other member-institutions of CARD MRI.

Kabacan is the 7th branch of CARD Bank in Mindanao. CARD Bank opened its first branch in Magallanes, Davao City in October 2007. Recently, two branches were also inaugurated in the Cities of Tagum, Davao del Norte and Mati, Davao Oriental.

As of October 2016, CARD Bank is serving almost 2-Million clients with P9-Billion total asset, 579 offices, and 3,433 total staffing nationwide. The CARD MRI Banking Group, which includes CARD Bank, is the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ financial inclusion champion.