2018 November - Banking is more than just about safeguarding and growing wealth. It's also about fostering and cultivating relationships.

Beverly B. Chang, chairman of Statcare Diagnostics found this out about 10 years ago when she started the business, a medical laboratory that caters to the diagnostic needs of various commercial and industrial companies in CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), MIMAROPA (Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan), and Bicol Region areas.

At that time, she was a housewife in Taiwan and not really familiar with the concept of banking. Then, a concern on the welfare of her son Gio led her back home to the Philippines.

School Should Be Cool, Not Stressful

"When he started studying, I didn't like the stress of schooling in Taiwan. They were in school from 7:00am until 6:30 in the afternoon. I really wanted to go back to the Philippines where kids at that age just had to go to school for half a day and then you have plenty of time to relax, bond and rest afterwards. And so, I decided to transfer my child here in the Philippines," she says.

Afterwards, she decided that since her son is already studying in the Philippines, she might as well stay in the country full time and set up a business that's in line with her college degree.

"I'm a registered medical technologist and I have a pathologist friend who convinced me to set up a laboratory here in the Philippines while at the same time look after Gio. So, I decided to set up the Statcare lab in Calamba," she explains.

In setting up the lab, Beverly obtained a loan from a bank using her house as a collateral. Soon afterwards, as the need to expand the business arose, she found it necessary to partner with a bigger bank.

Start Of A Beautiful Friendship

It just so happened that BDO Assistant Vice President Wilda E. Solis, also branch head of the BDO Calamba-Paseo Uno branch, was already frequenting Statcare at that time and had developed a friendship with the client. Eventually, Beverly took out the loan and transferred it to BDO.

Along the way, the BDO officer has also encouraged Beverly to apply for a BDO personal loan, payroll account, car loan, and personal accident insurance for her employees. Wilda personally took care of preparing the documentary requirements for Beverly.

After carefully reading each document, Beverly knew everything was in order, as always.

"That really helped because I don't want to handle a lot of documentary requirements. I was already so busy with the business. I trusted her to take care of everything. She was like my financial adviser at that time. I didn't have any close relationship with a bank before that. She give me unsolicited advice on how to save, how to settle interest payments, things like that. She really helped me out. I gave her everything, all the details that were required. She took care of the rest. I just wanted stress-free banking," narrates Beverly.

"It became easy for me, because I trust her. That's when I started to become comfortable with banks. Even for my planned expansion of my business, Ma'am Wilda helps me. Now, I'm looking into the various investment options BDO offers."

Wilda explains, "I set up everything. Our working relationship is such that almost everything is automatic. After she examines the documents, she signs them."

Experience Worth Remembering, Relationship Worth Nurturing

For son Gio, Beverly applied for a Junior Savers account with BDO when the boy was just little.

Now a teenager and holder of a regular savings account with BDO, Gio recalls fondly his memorable experience when his mother brought him along in the BDO Calamba-Paseo Uno branch to open the Junior Savers account.

"The people from the BDO branch were very helpful when I accompanied my mom during that time when she opened an account for me. The people were very helpful. The facilities were nice, conducive to kids like me," says Gio.

What he learned from his parents—and his regular trips to the BDO Calamba-Paseo Uno branch—early on were not lost to Gio to this day. From the weekly allowance his mother gives him every week, he saves a portion of it to deposit to his savings account.

On the other hand, Beverly wants to repay the honest and meticulous assistance Wilda has done for her as a client by making full use of other services BDO offers.

"For me, I just would like to secure the business and the welfare of my people. BDO always has my back. Trust is very important to me and I gave BDO all my trust.

“I feel secure every time. I just need to talk with Wilda and then everything feels ok, I feel secure. She takes care of everything. I just need to call and ask her, 'what's your opinion on this?' She really doubles as my financial adviser aside from being a branch manager.

“Security and trust, those two things are very important to me and I found them in BDO. And also friendship with the bank itself, not only with Wilda, but with their entire staff," says the client.

Statcare is the accredited laboratory of The Generics Pharmacy, Farmacia ni Dok, among other drugstores, as well as the Philippine Navy Naval Forces in Southern Luzon and Philippine National Police RHS5.

Among its state of the art medical equipment and facilities include a mobile X-ray machine and a fully automated blood chemistry machines.

Aside from its main branch in Calamba, Laguna, Statcare also has a branch in Bagumbayan, Legazpi City, Albay.

A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP. From left to right: BDO Assistant Vice President and Calamba-Paseo Uno branch head Wilda E. Solis, Statcare Diagnostics Chairperson Beverly B. Chang, and her son, Gio.