A Bank Celebrates a Century and a Half

We celebrate the victory of our conquerors by highlighting our own loss. We speak of failed revolutions–the fall of Bataan, the execution of Rizal, the discovery of the Katipunan; or of vanguished hopes and the death of freedom–when Martial Law was declared, the assassination of Ninoy Aquino.

While not meaning to diminish the historical significance of these events, the pattern of defeat–a recurring theme in the telling of our story as a people–is a discomforting thought.

When the very first bank established in the country celebrates its 150th anniversary this month, it cannot avoid straddling the fine lines of history, for its story is very much interwoven with our nation’s saga.

However, in retelling the bank’s colorful past vis-a-vis our historical heritage, it chooses to portray our nation’s story from a position of strength. That is, highlighting the best in the Filipino and the richness of our culture, the accomplishment of our people in art and other fields of endeavor, the wealth of our past.

One of the most interesting highlights of the Bank of the Philippine Islands’ (bpi) anniversary celebration is the "Glimpse of the Best" exhibit at the Gallery III of the Ayala Museum. The exhibit showcases Philippine prints–drawn and engraved by the finest Filipino and European artists in the 19th century depicting Philippine flora and fauna, everyday scenes and colonial churches.

Art works from the bank’s prized art collection of our renowned artists like Juan Luna, Fernando Amorsolo, Napoleon Abueva, Carlos "Botong" Francisco, Vicente Manansala, Hernando Ocampo, Cesar Legaspi, Arturo Luz, Ang Kiukok and Jerry Navarro will also be displayed for public viewing.

This exhibit reaffirms our pride and identity as a people and attempts to re-construct our national self-image brought so low by the series of political and economic crisis.

BPI’S historical anniversary theme was also buttressed by the undertaking of two important projects with historical significance. First is reconstituting Emma Blair and James Robertson book The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 published in the early 1900s. And second, the production a new national anthem video, which will be played on television and in cinemas.

Surviving copies of Blair and Robertson’s book were destroyed at the height of the second World War. This definitive book on Philippine history, which contains important historical accounts and documents of pre-Hispanic and Hispanic Philippines, was reprinted in later years but copies was quickly secured by scholars and collectors.

Now, all 20,000 pages of this book in 55 volumes are preserved in two CD-rom discs, thanks to the state-of-the-art technology bpi employed to reconstruct the book and its valuable historical data. Copies were then donated to the Filipinas Heritage Library, public schools and libraries nationwide.

BPI’S story is an interesting historical narrative in itself.

Founded on August 1, 1851 on the strength of a Spanish royal decree, El Banco Español Filipino de Isabel II, forerunner of the present-day bpi, was established in the Philippines just when Europe was undergoing rapid transformation because of the spread of liberal ideas and the Industrial Revolution.

In the juvenile days of the Philippine banking system, operating against the backdrop of an emerging new world order, El Banco Español issued the first paper money called the pesos fuertes, circulated the first coins, financed the first train service, the first telephone system, the first electric power utility and the first steamship service. It also introduced branch banking when it opened its first branch in Iloilo.

When it became the financial arm of the Ayala Group of Companies in 1969, it continued this tradition of leadership. As one of the biggest private, expanded commercial banks today, it is known for innovations that has changed the face of the banking industry. Among others, it gave the country its first automated teller machine (atm), the first debit card, Call Center and Internet-based operating platform.

It also pioneered the idea of cashless shopping, telephone banking and the concept of the banking kiosks. And through the bpi Foundation, the bank funnels loans to micro enterprises, funds scholarship programs, manages the bpi Science Awards and undertakes other socially significant endeavors.

For those interested to learn about the country’s history from a financial standpoint, a Philippine currency exhibit will be held beginning August 15 at the Ma’I Room of the Ayala Museum. Held in cooperation with the Philippine Numistatic and Antiquarian Society, it will feature, among others, pre-Hispanic gold barter rings, Spanish period bank notes and period coins.

This event will also coincide with the public launch of the bpi Commemorative Ingot (available in gold and silver) produced by the Franklin Mint Company.

It is not everyday that we view history in a positive and affirmative light. At at time when we are groping as a nation to find our place in a highly prosperous world, bpi’s historical showcase is a wake-up call that by re-constructing a positive national self-image we can become the nation we are meant to be.

bpi’s historical marker, now installed at its head office in Makati, will always be a fitting reminder of the bank’s place in our national history and its role in the preservation of our heritage through its continued support and patronage of the arts and the best in the Filipino.