PCF is a pool of funds from the cooperatives in the Visayas for the purpose of building financial capacity in order to respond to the financing needs of cooperatives. It is a coop-owned financial system for mutual benefit anchored on trust and the spirit of cooperativism.
In 1978, four pioneering VICTO-affiliated primary cooperatives in Cebu, namely: Cebu CFI Capitol Community Credit Coop (now the Cebu CFI Community Coop), Peoples Credit Coop (now the Cebu Peoples Multi-Purpose Coop), Guadalupe Parish Credit Coop (now the Guadalupe Community Multi-Purpose Coop) and the Cordova Credit Coop (now the Cordova Multi-Purpose Coop) decided to pool funds at P5,000 each in response to the indifference of banks to answer coop’s liquidity needs. This started what was then known as the Coop Interlending Fund System (CIFS).
The CIFS only activity then was to accept fixed deposits (share capital equity) from VICTO-affiliated cooperatives and to release loans to them. Through the years, CIFS slowly evolved from being the coops’ lender of last resort to becoming the alternative sustainable coop finance intermediary. The name Visayas CoopCentral Fund (VCF) was adopted in 1987.
In 1996, the VCF investor-coops recommended for the “spinning-off” or the separation of VCF from VICTO as a separate and autonomous cooperative federation. The VICTO General Assembly accepted this recommendation. A new organizational set-up was drawn and new officers were elected. Its new vision and mission indicate the commitment of VCF towards the development of cooperatives, their individual members and their communities.
The Visayas Cooperative Central Fund Federation or VCF was registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) on May 5, 1998 with registration numberCEB-F-014. The 2007 General Assembly approved to change of name when it decided to operative nationwide.
The CDA approved the new name Philippine Cooperative Central Fund Federation (PCF) in March 16, 2009 under a new registration number
CEB-A-530.
