Ibaan Rural Bank, Inc. was established on August 19, 1957 by Mr. Bienvenido M. Medrano, former President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and co-founder of Far East Bank, and Mr. Manuel M. Agregado, then newly retired Auditor General, with the vision of becoming of service to the people of Ibaan, Batangas by providing reasonably priced credit particularly to small merchants, farmers and traders in the community. Aiming to spread the benefits of what he believed would be a profitable business, Mr. Medrano invited relatives and town mates to invest in IRB in whatever capacity they had. A year later, another prominent investor joined the IRB in the person of Mr. Roman Ozaeta, a retired Supreme Court Justice.
With the end-goal of uplifting the quality of life of the people in the countryside, IRB participated in government programs aimed at providing credit to the rural population. Like most of rural banks did, IRB, in its early years, operated largely with rediscounting funds from the Central Bank. However, while delivering the usual savings and loan services, Ibaan Rural Bank pioneered the use of checking account in Batangas area, in as early as 1967, for its founding fathers, being progressive businessmen themselves, appreciated the importance of providing such service, to further develop the budding SME sector in
Batangas at that time.
Upon the entry of the second generation, namely, Atty. Francis S. Ganzon and Ms. Teresa M. Ganzon, IRB was placed in a premier position in the rural banking industry. In 1980, the Human Resource Department was formally established and the first Vision and Mission Statements of IRB were crafted. Inspired by the Economy of Communion proposed by Chiara Lubich of the Focolare Movement, in 1991 IRB embarked on an expansion program to be able to make a bigger impact, both as an employer and as a rural-based financial conduit. Deposit generation became its major thrust, in order to wean itself away from the Central Bank and develop its capacity to operate as a stable rural bank. From 1991 to 1996, eight branches were established in various municipalities of Batangas – Calaca, Cuenca, Mabini, Nasugbu, Rosario, San Jose, San Juan and San Pascual.
In 1996, the Ibaan Rural Bank Foundation was established, funded out of the bank's profits to highlight the Corporate Social Responsibility of the bank, with the purpose of extending micro-credit and scholarship programs such as "Study now, pay later" for the poor but deserving students and sponsoring community-building seminars.
When the bank celebrated its 40th anniversary, it adopted the business name "Bangko Kabayan" with a resolve to be of service not only to Batangueños but also to other communities in nearby provinces. In 2000, in search for a new product after the financial crisis affected many of their SME clients, BK explored the possibility of going into microfinance lending. They first studied the Grameen replication (group method) and after making some adjustments, moved the activity from the foundation to the bank as a formal product. A year later, the USAID introduced the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services program or the MABS, and BK became a pilot project in Region 4 to try out individual microfinance services. Passionate in their desire to effectively reach the unbanked sectors and introduce them to banking services, top management of the bank gave full support to the program and even if the USAID ended its project about 5 years ago, the MABS individual microfinance product has continued to grow as a stable MF product. Today, (as of December 2023), the microfinance embraces not only lending but also savings and microinsurance, micro-housing products as well. Reaching some 52,216 clients and generating P 386.7M in loans, making up 11.87% of total loan portfolio, BK’s microfinance program has also generated P 119.3M in low cost savings. Gross interest income of the product has accounted for 17.52% of total gross income of the bank today. Likewise, BK has been awardee of the prestigious MABS EAGLE (Efficiency, Asset Quality, Growth, Liability Structure and Earnings) Award 2003 – 2007 and again in 2010 and 2011 when the last awarding took place – the only rural bank in the country to have won the award 7 times making it to the Hall of Fame in the USAID progam.
In 2007, Bangko Kabayan celebrated its 50th Anniversary and unveiled its new corporate logo, representing its achievement in becoming a solid rural bank in the region. During that year, it received the Best Capital Build-up in the Landbank Awards and was included in the Global Top 100 of Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX). In fact, BK has been the outstanding LBP partner bank in the region from 2008 – 2011 and again in 2013 and 2015.
Year 2012, Bangko Kabayan started to expand outside Batangas particularly in Laguna and Quezon. In 2015, in line with the efforts of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the National Government to push microinsurance as a response to the devastation caused by climate change, Bangko Kabayan, in partnership with the Country Bankers Life Insurance Corporation, launched the CB Kalinga Microinsurance for the benefit of both MF clients and depositors.
Bangko Kabayan Inc. launched its new face as a Private Development Bank in 2016. It became 100% compliant with Cir. 855 within a year of its introduction with minimal effect on its balance sheet. In celebration of its 60th anniversary, Bangko Kabayan opened its very first branch lite in Lobo, Batangas.
In 2020, Union Bank Philippines Inc., through its subsidiaries, City Savings Bank and Union Properties Inc. acquired majority of the shares of BK and is hoped to bring in advance digital interventions crucial to improve its services and gain a strong foothold not only in Calabarzon but the entire country.
Last 2021, Bangko Kabayan was recognized as Best MSME Growth Bank in the Philippines by Capital Finance International (CFI.co), a London-based print journal and online resource reporting on business, economics and finance, and which honors individuals and organizations that significantly add value to their stakeholders. Bangko Kabayan was also named the Best MSME’s Development Bank at the 2023 International Finance Awards, recognizing the bank’s commitment in supporting the growth and development of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
As BK aims to provide better access to financial services through a wider branch network, Bangko Kabayan formally announced its merger with FairBank and Progressive Inc., with BK as the surviving bank, last July 2023. This merger widens the bank coverage to Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas regions.
Todate, Bangko Kabayan Inc. has 35 branches and 3 branch Lite in the regions of 4-A, 6, and 7, focusing on municipalities with growth potential in the MSME sector, a deposit base of more than 50,000 depositors and resources of over P 4.51B today.