SME banker among outstanding San Pableños 2019

Aristeo Dequito was recognized for his contributions in the field of banking (microfinance and SME) for 31 years now, rising from the ranks as the first account officer during the CARD’s inception in this city in 1988, and working as a social-development agent that provides communities with various development-oriented programs and financial services. (File Photo: CARD MRI/Facebook)

SAN PABLO CITY, Laguna – The president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Bank was named 2019 Outstanding San Pableño in the field of microfinance and SME banking by this city government awards committee during the city’s 79th Charter anniversary on Tuesday.

Aristeo Dequito was recognized for his contributions in the field of banking (microfinance and SME) for 31 years now, rising from the ranks as the first account officer during the CARD’s inception in this city in 1988, and working as a social-development agent that provides communities with various development-oriented programs and financial services.

“This award reminds me of my journey as a development worker at CARD. I am forever thankful to the City of San Pablo for recognizing the efforts I and CARD have done for more than three decades,” Dequito said.

Obtaining his promotions to several positions with nine years of working in CARD, Inc. (A Microfinance NGO) and eventually to the CARD Bank from 1997-2005, Dequito admitted his work transition from an NGO to the bank operations has opened doors for him to expand his horizons.

“Eventually, my work at CARD became more challenging every year. But I didn’t give up. I even pushed myself so I could gain more knowledge that would be useful in managing organizations in the future,” Dequito recalled.

Given his first break as first president and CEO of CARD-Business Development Service Foundation Inc. (CARD-BDSFI), he rose to become the top honcho of the CARD SME Bank.

“We were planning to professionalize the business development program of CARD back then. Fortunately, Boyet (Dequito) was taking up his master’s degree at Asian Institute of Management (AIM). So I challenged him to consider the establishment of CARD-Business Development Service Foundation as a subject of his thesis,” said Dr. Jaime Aristotle Alip, founder and chair emeritus of CARD MRI.

Dequito’s graduation and CARD-BDSFI’s official registration at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) both happened in 2008.

At CARD-BDSFI, Dequito ensures that the business development and marketing needs of the microfinance clients of CARD MRI are addressed accordingly.

“CARD has hundreds and thousands of clients already that time, which is quite a challenging task on our end. But with the trust and support of the management, we were able to provide interventions to our clients tailored fit to their needs,” he shared.

His brainchild “Mga Likha ni Inay” (MLNI), a marketing program of CARD-BDSFI, which was then registered as a separate entity in 2014, boosted the institutions under CARD MRI.

The CARD-BDSFI even grew to become an inspiration for the establishment of CARD Leasing and Finance Corporation (CLFC) in 2013, which precursor was CARD-BDSFI’s development of scalable projects such as solar products, printing, and finance lease, among others.

Dequito’s social enterprise acumen catapulted him to head three social enterprises until 2015, thus reaching the challenging top helm at CARD SME Bank, serving as the second president and CEO of the bank after it was acquired in 2007.

The bank is CARD MRI’s thrift bank that provides SME loans and other financial and community development programs to its more than 840,000 clients nationwide.

CARD MRI Managing Director Flordeliza Sarmiento has described Dequito’s leadership as instrumental in the growth and development of the bank, contributing huge impacts in the banking services to clients and the community.

“His heart to serve and exceptional leadership skills have sustained the good performance of CARD SME Bank in terms of repayment and business viability of its clients. The loan outstanding also continues to grow, meaning, more and more MSMEs in the Philippines are provided with their financial needs,” Sarmiento added.

The bank also remained to be consistent in receiving awards every year, among them the prestigious Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas award for financial inclusion.

“My rich experience in microfinance and SME banking all started at CARD. I owe this award to CARD and to its millions of clients,” thanked Dequito, citing his academic journey at Harvard Business School also helped him in strategically steering the bank’s future.

“CARD has been the wind beneath my wings. Where I am today is because of the support of CARD. My sincerest thanks to Dr. Aris Alip and Dr. Dolores M. Torres, who have been my mentors since I started working at CARD,” the honoree shared, expressing his gratitude to the CARD MRI family, Dr. Alip and Dr. Torres, who were also recipients of the Outstanding San Pableño award in the past.

Dequito is also an active civic leader and once became the National President of the Association of Apex Club of the Philippines, which was founded in Australia in 1931.

“I will continue my work and pass on to others the lessons I’ve learned so a lot of people could also benefit and help others grow,” Dequito said.