COMMENTARY | Charting the future toward financial resiliency

MANILA, Philippines — Financial resiliency is something that our nation has to continually strive for; it is more than just about building wealth, but about innovation, flexibility, perseverance, and expecting the unexpected, as well.

The Philippines is one of those at the top of list when it comes to climate-related risks, financial risks given our dependencies, and medical and health-related risks. Yet we were able to navigate through these—typhoons, the Asian financial crisis, and COVID-19.

Hence, there is no better inspiration for us when it comes to personal financial resiliency, than the macro-level resiliency of our economy. But what did we have in common? What did we do? Or perhaps a better question is, what else can we do?

We have many cities with dynamic and independent economies. We’re adaptive and flexible. We cooperate, we communicate. Believe it or not, we innovate, we think outside of the box. And last, but definitely not the least, we know that challenges are normal parts of life. It’s probably what keeps us going with so much energy and sometimes even excitement, knowing that we will resolve whatever issues that come our way.

Financing companies, like Global Dominion, was born amidst a crisis, due to high lending and financing demand from consumers. Talk about the financial crises and the many challenges with conflicts in different countries faced by overseas Filipino workers, not too far from the situations now. Global Dominion has pursued lending to the Filipinos through those years.

The financing company is said to be one of the first to resume its operations amidst the most recent pandemic, as it understood that during those difficult times, funding is critical for businesses to mobilize the economy.

“We went face-to-face with alcohol and face shields, remember that phase—just to talk to our customers, ask them how they were doing, and simultaneously assess their readiness to restart,” Global Dominion President and Managing Director Patricia Poco-Palacios shared.

She recently delivered a speech during the National Finance Congress (NFC) organized by De La Salle University’s Management of Financial Institutions Association (DLSU-MaFIA) in