EAST MEETS WEST “Up to now, China Bank is my bank. I am very proud to be banking with China Bank for so long.” —RICARDO PO RICARDO PO, HEAD of the Century Pacific group, is another success story from the large numbers of entrepreneurs fostered by China Bank. He immigrated from China in 1947 at the age of sixteen. He started banking with China Bank in 1958. In 1979, he started an export canning factory, Century Canning. Century Pacific now exports canned tuna to firms in the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada and Australia. To grow Century, Ricardo Po made China Bank his primary bank—a status it continues to have three decades later. Century Pacific sells around 500 million tins of products— which include canned meat and canned tuna—a year. In the local canned tuna business, Century Tuna enjoys 90% market share. Century Group has total assets of P4.7 billion and annual revenues of P6.5 billion. Ricardo Po remains grateful to China Bank for its support. He said: “The year 2008 was difficult for everyone. It was a global recession. I talked to Gilbert Dee and he said very quickly: ‘I’ll give you P300 million more for your credit line.’ We never had to use that line, fortunately. But that’s the kind of bank China Bank is. Once they trust a client, they support him all the way.” p241.pdf 1 12/11/12 9:13 AM TH E C H INA B AN K S TO R Y Their Success Is Our Business 241 new 241-256.indd 1 1/16/13 10:26:58 AM p242.pdf 1 12/11/12 9:05 AM Larry Tan-Villareal and Lucio Yan UNWAVERING LOYALTY “China Bank gives us the best kind of support any bank could give.” —LARRY TAN-VILLAREAL AND LUCIO YAN STARTING AS A MANUFACTURER of tin cans for industrial paints and chemicals in 1962, the partnership of Larry Tan-Villareal and Lucio Yan has not only grown exponentially but has also diversified into food grade tin cans, cardboard and corrugated boxes, tin can labels, and bottle caps, among others. In the 70s, the partners also ventured into real estate development. The many companies established by Tan-Villareal and Yan count among its clients some of the biggest manufacturing companies of varied consumer products such as Nestlé, Universal Robina, and Colgate-Palmolive. From the time the partners established their first company, Rowell Industrial Corp, China Bank has always been their bank. “It was China Bank that extended to us our first loan of P30,000,” said Tan-Villareal, whose father was a good friend of George Dee. “Our relationship is based on trust,” Yan said. As their group of companies grew, other banks approached them, but the partners stayed with China Bank. “China Bank gives us the best kind of support that any bank could give,” Tan-Villareal said. 242 Their Success Is Our Business A M AT T E R O F T R US T new 241-256.indd 2 1/16/13 10:26:59 AM Esperanza Ching and Jose Ching FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS “Malaki ang tulong na ibinigay sa amin ng China Bank.” —ESPERANZA RAYMUNDO-CHING Esperanza R. Ching’s relationship with China Bank was established with a paperclip—a story she tells her grandchildren up to now. “Don’t underestimate the value of a single paperclip,” she says. She and her husband Jose were on their way out of the Bank after the disapproval of their loan when they saw a paperclip on the floor, which Jose picked up and gave to Don Albino SyCip’s secretary. Don Albino saw this, called for them and granted them the loan. That was in the early 1950’s and up to now, she and her husband, a China Bank client since 1948, only bank with China Bank. Esperanza and Jose came from humble beginnings and she says that China Bank has always been a part of their remarkable “business journey.” Jose began with a small store and Esperanza with a rice business. They married in 1953 and with the help of the “paper clip” loan from China Bank, they went into rice trading and cement distribution. Their story shows what hard work, determination, business savvy and an appreciation for the simple yet basic things in life, can achieve. p243.pdf 1 12/11/12 9:06 AM TH E C H INA B AN K S TO R Y Their Success Is Our Business 243 new 241-256.indd 3 1/16/13 10:26:59 AM 21 p244.pdf 1 12/11/12 9:12 AM Luis Uy and Siao Tick Chong FRIENDS OF LONG STANDING “Why should we look for another bank?” —SIAO TICK CHONG AND LUIS UY GOOD FRIENDS Siao Tick Chong, 92, and Luis Uy, 83, have been doing business with China Bank for more than 60 years. Up to now, they still visit the Binondo branch every day, a habit they are not about to break because the bank is like their second office. “We know everyone here, including the security guards,” Mr. Siao said. Mr. Siao became a Bank client in the 1940s when he was a young copra trader. He said, “Dr. SyCip was very kind. He was also straight and very strict. My trust and confidence in him was very high.” He remained loyal to China Bank as he diversified his business and became one of the biggest distributors and manufacturers of electrical products in the country. Mr. Uy, on the other hand, is a second generation client. “My father was an old friend of Mr. SyCip. He was an importer of goods such as cutlery from Germany. It was easy to do business then. What was important was xinyong and my father knew that. There was no hesitation on the part of the bank to accommodate him because they knew he would commit himself to the transaction.” “We have never left China Bank. We’re satisfied. We get what we need. And that personal relationship is very important,” Mr. Uy concluded. 244 Their Success Is Our Business A M AT T E R O F T R US T new 241-256.indd 4 1/16/13 10:27:00 AM p245.pdf 1 12/11/12 9:11 AM TH E C H INA B AN K S TO R Y Their Success Is Our Business 245 new 241-256.indd 5 1/16/13 10:27:00 AM p246.pdf 1 12/11/12 9:07 AM VISION Drawing strength from our rich history, we will be the best, most admired, and innovative financial services institution, partnering with our customers, employees, and shareholders in wealth creation. 246 A M AT T E R O F T R US T new 241-256.indd 6 1/16/13 10:27:00 AM MISSION We will be a leading provider of quality services consistently delivered to institutions, entrepreneurs and individuals, here and abroad, to meet their financial needs and exceed rising expectations. We will be a primary catalyst in the creation of wealth for our customers, driven by a desire to help them succeed, through a highly motivated team of competent and empowered professionals, guided by in-depth knowledge of their needs and supported by leading-edge technology. We will maintain the highest ethical standards, sense of responsibility and fairness with respect to our customers, employees, shareholders, and the communities we serve. p247.pdf 1 12/11/12 9:21 AM TH E C H INA B AN K S TO R Y 247 new 241-256.indd 7 1/16/13 10:27:02 AM p254.pdf 1 12/10/12 10:01 PM 2012 CHINA BANK BOARD OF DIRECTORS HENRY SY SR. Honorary Chairman CORE VALUES Integrity High Performance Standards Commitment to Quality Customer Service Focus Concern For People DY TIONG PETER S. DEE HARLEY T. SY JOSE T. SIO JOAQUIN T. DEE HANS T. SY RICARDO R. CHUA GILBERT U. DEE HERBERT T. SY ALBERTO S. YAO ROBERTO F. KUAN Efficiency Resourcefulness/Initiative 248 A M AT T E R O F T R US T new 241-256.indd 8 1/16/13 10:27:04 AM p255.pdf 1 12/10/12 10:00 PM DY TIONG PETER S. DEE HARLEY T. SY JOSE T. SIO JOAQUIN T. DEE HANS T. SY RICARDO R. CHUA GILBERT U. DEE HERBERT T. SY ALBERTO S. YAO ROBERTO F. KUAN PILAR NUBLA LIAO, Advisor to the Board TH E C H INA B AN K S TO R Y 249 new 241-256.indd 9 1/16/13 10:27:05 AM ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This history of China Banking Corporation (China Bank), which spans more than ninety years, would not have been possible without the firsthand accounts of the former and current officers and staff of the Bank who generously shared their stories and insights with the author. Among our major sources were Gilbert Dee, Peter Dee, Nancy Dee Yang, Hans Sy, Ric Chua, Johnny Coreces, Willy Tecson, Eddie Go, Nory Reyes-Lao, Rene Lao and Alex Escucha. A number of clients and friends of China Bank took time off from their very busy schedules to be interviewed for the book and to them, we express our appreciation. Mr. Washington SyCip, son of Albino SyCip, not only agreed to be interviewed but also allowed us to use some of their family photographs. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) also allowed us to use a photograph from their book 50 Years of Central Banking in the Philippines.