Dumaguete City Development Bank (DCDB), Inc. was incorporated on July 7, 1980 by Julio O. Sy, Sr., Lourdes M. Calumpang, Tita R. Sung, Jose E. Romero, Jr., and Gregorio E. Uymatiao, Sr. and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These individuals, together with the Development Bank of the Philippines comprised DCDB’s first Board of Directors (BOD).

The following week, the Bank’s corporate officers were elected by the BOD in a special meeting held on July 15. Elected to these positions were: Julio O. Sy, Sr., president; Jose E. Romero, Jr., vice-president; Gregorio E. Uymatiao, treasurer; and Marcelino C. Maxino, secretary.

A little more than three months after it was incorporated, DCDB commenced banking operations on October 29, after receiving the authority to operate as a private development bank from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) earlier that month.

In just its third year of operation, the BSP gave the Bank an award of recognition on January 7, 1983 for its responsible use of credit during the previous year.

1990 was a watershed year for the Bank and its vision of becoming one of the leading development banks in the Visayas-Mindanao region through its commitment to be a responsible partner for growth and countryside development. That July, DCDB established its first branch in the City of Valencia, Bukidnon.

This commitment eventually led to an award from the Pag-IBIG Fund for being one of the most active accredited originating banks under Pag-IBIG Fund EHLP on December 13, 1991.

Eight months later, DCDB acquired shares of the Rural Bank of Sibulan (Neg. Or.), Inc., making it its affiliate on August 8, 1992.

Staying true to its vision, DCDB’s second branch, established in the municipality of Quezon, Bukidnon, began operations on August 27, 1993 and only two months later, its third branch in Lapu-lapu City, Cebu was established on October 16. Barely a month after these branches opened, the Bank added to its line of financial services and products with the authority granted it by the BSP on November 10 to accept demand deposits.

In a move to improve the speed and efficiency of service, the computerization of Current Account/Savings Account processing for all branches commenced on November 16, 1994.

From its leased offices located on San Jose Street, Dumaguete City where it first began business, the Bank relocated to its new permanent address at the corner of Dr. V. Locsin and Cervantes Streets on September 27, 1999.

Another milestone was reached when the Bank sought and gained approval from the SEC for an increase in authorized capital stock from P80M to P120M on May 2, 2001 and the Valencia branch building located on Sayre Highway was inaugurated on June 16 of the following month.

In continued efforts to improve the efficiency of loan services, the computerization of the loans process began on January 17, 2004 for the head office and April 15 for the Valencia branch. This was aimed at creating a more improved and efficient information management and transactional processing system. Together with similar efforts regarding the Bank’s Current Account/Savings Account processing instituted in November 1994, this set the stage for the centralization of the banking process which was to follow.

The Bank introduced another service to its clients with the inauguration of its “on-us” automated teller machine (ATM) at the head office on August 15, 2006.

A seminal event in the Bank’s history was the acquisition of the Centralized Core Banking System application from Logicos, Inc. in August 2009. This eliminated the Bank’s use of an older, decentralized information processing system to a centralized system enabling information from the Bank’s other branches to be viewed and processed in real time. This capability will extend to RBSibulan when the merger of both banks takes effect. The proposed plan of merger was approved by the BOD in March 2013. BSP approval of the merger was granted in June of 2016.

BancNet, a Philippine-based inter-bank network connecting the ATM networks of local and offshore banks, and the largest inter-bank network in the Philippines in terms of the number of member banks and annual transactions, approved DCDB’s application for membership in February 2012, and BancNet ATM signage the following month. ATM policies and procedures were adapted in October that year with the full implementation of BancNet in November 2013. The process of establishing an ATM at RBSibulan started in October 2014 and came online in November. On July 23, 2016 the ATM located in Dauin, Negros Oriental was inaugurated and came online.

A major event in May of 2012 was the BSP approval of the Bank’s application for PhilPass, a computer application dedicated to transactions between Bangko Sentral and DCDB. This application enabled DCDB to conduct bank business with other Philippine-based banks locally and abroad through the BSP. A prime example of this capability for enhanced inter-bank business would be overseas remittances.

Throughout its existence, the Bank has, in general, consistently earned favorable ratings from the examinations conducted by the BSP.