Progressive Bank Inc. (PBI) is a rural bank operating in Panay Island. Considered as a significant player in its market, PBI enjoys a Php 116 million portfolio with 15,000 clients and although it has a near perfect performance boasting a 2% Portfolio at Risk Ratio, its management still feels there is plenty of room for improvement.
PBI commissioned the services of SEDPI for an organizational appraisal in March 2007. The result of the appraisal led PBI’s management to forge partnership with SEDPI to further improve its financial products and services with the goal of achieving both its financial and social missions. With the assistance of the BPI Capacity Building Loan, PBI was able to spread its capacity building expenditures in the next three years.
From the appraisal, the needs of the organization were identified. The capacity building needs of the staff were identified and focus was given on crafting incentives schemes, compensation system, and staff benefits. On the client level, better product designs were needed to win the already saturated market over well-established competitors. Through the training and mentoring assistance (TAMA), PBI was able to clarify its niche as the leading service provider of financial services and enterprise development support for the economic empowerment of the poor in Panay.
One of the most recent PBI-SEDPI partnerships was the Strategic Planning held in October 2007. On hand for the planning were PBI’s board members, managers and supervisors, ensuring holistic and participative discussions on vital issues. The institutional values, vision, and mission were crafted based on the understanding and direction favored by both the board and staff. Key Result Areas, performance indicators and strategies were set not only from careful market research, but also from realistic capacities of field staff and the institution.
In the end, the strategic planning resulted in PBI’s clear direction to all its stakeholders