History

What is now known as St. Martin of Tours Credit and Development Cooperative was started by 15 Church-based (cursillistas) founders on November 11, 1969, from an inspiration by the then Assistant Parish Priest, Fr. Sancho V. Ramos. Originally named St. Martin of Tours Credit Union, it was formally registered with the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Cooperative Development on January 27, 1970 and was named after the patron saint of what was once a fourth class agricultural town in the province of Bulacan, Bocaue. Under the leadership of Dr. Antonio B. Fortuna – who served as the cooperative’s Chairman for 20 years – the cooperative took root, flourished and has never stopped growing. Dr. Fortuna has, since then, been elevated as the cooperative’s Chairman Emeritus. Initially holding office at a room in the municipal office, it had no sooner had its own office building at a small lot beside the parish church, upon the representation of then Asst. Parish Priest and now Monsignor Roman O. Nocon, with the blessings of Bishop Cirilo R. Almario, Jr. of the Malolos Diocese. Following the Samahang Nayon (community association) principle of the Martial Law years, the credit union registered itself anew as St. Martin of Tours Kilusang Bayan sa Pagpapautang, Inc (SMTKBPI). By this time, membership had reached 500. Fifteen years since its inception, in 1984, membership was recorded at 3,000. Meanwhile, from the founders’ equity of P250, total assets steadily leaped to P18.5 million. More milestones and achievements were a-coming, including the development of a housing project, St. Martin’s Village in baranggay Bambang, Bocaue. Branching out in two other barangays and owning three office buildings followed sooner than expected. Expanding its reach, membership was opened outside of Bocaue to four neighboring towns – Balagtas, Pandi, Sta. Maria and Marilao – and serviced by the three branches. However, more branches were soon opened to bring the offered products and services closer to the people – Sta. Maria, Guiguinto, San Miguel (all in Bulacan) and Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija province, a branch in partnership with the National Confederation of Credit Cooperatives (NATCCO) and with a micro-finance component in its operations. To date, the cooperative has more than 16,000 members in Central Luzon and is the biggest savings and credit cooperative in the region. Recently, it has also ventured into a non-allied business, a food franchise in Batangas City, Southern Luzon, which it hopes will sentinel the cooperative’s expansion plan. The General Assembly approved this year the cooperative’s plan to expand its operations throughout the country. Evolving through the years as an effective channel for socio-economic growth in the communities it serves, the cooperative, at the new millenium, registered with the Cooperative Development Authority its energized name – St. Martin of Tours Credit and Development Cooperative, a fitting name for the institution that renders multi-faceted finacial products and social services. To ensure that operations remain efficient and sustaining, St. Martin’s cooperative has started to migrate its information system into a Wide Area Network System. It has operationalized its automated teller machines system where members can transact business anywhere in the Philippines and in the world, 24 hours a day, seven days a week (24/7). It has also tied up with Visa International so that members can now have debit cards. The ATM/Visa innovation is a first in the history of Philippine cooperatives. With its continuous evolution into becoming a more efficient and responsive institution, St. Martin of Tours Credit and Development hopes to be among the first cooperatives in the country to achieve the ACCESS branding initiated by the Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU).