Bankers Institute of the Philippines

AGNES C. BRILLANTE – SANTOS
BAIPHIL PRESIDENT 2011-2012

Theme: BAIPHIL beyond 70: Taking Stock, Harnessing Strengths, Forging Ahead

Over seven decades ago,  seven visionary banks saw the need to band together to find a solution to a common challenge.  They conceived of a plan, and thus, gave birth to what is now  known as the Bankers Institute of the Philippines  or BAIPHIL.

Nurtured by the dreams and passion of a driven membership, the number of institutional and associate members grew and multiplied, over the years. 

BAIPHIL certainly has come a long way — from a small circle of mostly accountants and auditors with the primary goal of increasing the efficiency and uniformity in bank accounting, auditing and operations among banks, to a prestigious and respectable association of 68 institutional members with around 300 key bank executives, with more comprehensive functions and varied fields of expertise, faithfully serving their mission of providing support to the banking industry in  enhancing productivity and keeping abreast with relevant developments through continuing education, research and informative exchange.

The success, accomplishments and staying power of BAIPHIL were achieved across 70 terms and 65 presidencies, all because of the will, consolidated brainpower, and financial support of its members and partners.

Sustaining such feats is no doubt an enormous challenge. The  question now is where do I take BAIPHIL from here and what is needed to get there?

Our theme:
BAIPHIL beyond 70: Taking Stock, Harnessing Strengths, Forging Ahead, says it all!

We look back to learn from the past and plan for the future. We will identify and gather the needed resources, and move forward with determination towards the attainment of our 
-vision of being the leading organization in the pursuit of banking excellence, at par with the best in the Asia Pacific region.

We will continue to be steadfast in our mission to support the banking industry by providing professional training and education that are in line with the principles of good governance.  We will be guided by the ++Roadmap that we have crafted together during our planning session.

BAIPHIL Roadmap for FY 2011 – 2012

Our journey will take us to 3 major destinations —

• First, a stronger foothold on franchise as premier training partner of the banking industry.
• Second, a holistic professional and personal development program for members
• and Third a new BAIPHIL Training Center

Our means of getting there are -

To Strengthen foothold:

• we will regularly review and update our course offerings to proactively address the changing training needs of the banking industry.
• we will innovate, roll-out the BAIPHIL e-Learn facility and integrate with our existing face to face and classroom  training programs.  This will provide members ready access to course offerings and facilitate enrolment, payment, start and end sessions, learning checks and certification, anytime, anywhere, in a secure environment.
• we will capitalize on the high impact social network media through Facebook and Twitter to improve communication and information exchange among members, partners, and stakeholders. Furthermore, we will continue to enhance the BAIPHIL website to include an editorial page, and  introduce a new feature each month to sustain the interest of our users and encourage wider readership for a more efficient dissemination of course offerings, and training schedules.
• we will encourage more active provincial member participation in BAIPHIL activities to expand the reach of the Institute.
• we will go beyond borders to invite qualified foreign speakers, experts in their fields, to impart knowledge on global best practices. This will be coordinated with our multinational member banks and the Asia Pacific Association of Banking Institutes (APABI) of which BAIPHIL is a member.
• we will expand the roster of qualified resource speakers by recruiting more of the best practitioners in the field.
• we will design and run a "Training the Trainers" workshop to develop promising alternate speakers particularly, for the corporate governance courses, for which the institute has been accredited by the BSP as a training provider.
• we will seriously pursue (with the BAP and the BSP) our 4 year old dream to convert our Treasury Operations Course into a certification course.
• we will obtain accreditation for certain BAIPHIL courses, such as the Credit Cycle and the Treasury ladderized course, from:
  1. CHED to qualify them for equivalent units in a college or masteral course, and from
  2. PICPA to qualify as Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits to
     satisfy the requirement of the Professional Regulations  Commission (PRC).

Our other activities are designed to support and complement our mission.

To provide opportunity for a Holistic development,

• We will conduct research and development of the training needs of member banks.
• We will provide timely Market, Legal, Regulatory & Tax updates to members.
• We will keep members informed of relevant market developments, fiscal reforms, and other important  human interest topics. These will be addressed by guest speakers in our monthly General Membership Meetings and during the BAIPHIL Week celebration.
• We will implement the updated accounting and administrative policies and procedures for the BAIPHIL  office  to ensure the accurate and efficient billing and collection of receivables.
• We will pursue the Automation of the institute’s Accounting system.
• We will document the milestones in the institute’s 7 decades of existence, and the evolution of Philippine banks, in a book for launching during the BAIPHIL Week.
• We will continue to pursue our CSR programs such as the Financial Education Program (FEP), a joint project with the BSP, the seminars for members of the Philippine Association of College Schools of Business (PACSB) in partnership with the BAP Education Committee, the Annual medical mission a tie up with the SM Foundation, our scholarship grants arranged through the Tahanan ng Panginoon group, and our other charitable programs.  Even our sports & fellowship activities will have social responsibility content.

To secure a Training Center:

What i consider to be our loftiest dream yet, is to soon find a more appropriate venue for our BAIPHIL  Training Center, a venue conducive to learning, with ample classroom space to allow us to hold various trainings, seminars and other activities, simultaneously. This will mean the full realization of  a 20 year old dream that started in 1991, on the institute’s golden year, when a humble seed fund of P100,000.00 was raised for the establishment of a Training Center.  This will also put us at par with our counterparts in the Asia Pacific Region who have long been having their own Training Center Buildings.

Our Financial Resources:

• A dynamic membership, with more members working and contributing will be our strongest tool to achieve our goals.
• We will continue to prudently manage our institute’s resources, accumulated over the years, and faithfully keep our necessary expenses within approved cost budgets.
• As in the past, we will strive to make even our CSR projects self-supporting, financed by member volunteers, friends, relatives, and sponsors as we extend our intermediation efforts to the inclusion of more of those who are old, infirm and financially disadvantaged.

To augment our existing financial resources:

• We will Launch a book (on the Seven Decades of BAIPHIL side by side with the History and evolution of Banks in the Philippines)
• We will hold movie premiers and other fund raising activities
• We will welcome donations for this very good cause, perhaps from more visionary banks? Who knows?

My fellow members, we are faced with a monumental task, but we also know that together we can make things happen! One person cannot accomplish anything of this great significance.  I must say, I feel lucky I have all of you to depend on.

We must do what we can, as best we can today! Because if we take care of today, the future will take care of itself.  Let us ensure that years from now, when we look back, we  should be able to say – "This was a golden year – when leadership through service was truly defined, when selfless dedication in the quest for banking excellence was clearly shown, when BAIPHIL members reached out for their best, united by a common goal."
Let us forge ahead to make this year and the future be worthy of the past.

We will continue to work and act together as a team banded together by a common goal.  We may not speak in unison at first, but at the end of the day we will speak in harmony!  For all the challenges and differences that we may face, we will listen to, and respect each other’s ideas, and endeavour to find a common ground, and together we will make a difference.

Our dedication to the pursuit of banking excellence will bind us.  Our faith in God will guide us.

Thank you and have a good day.