Las Tunas.- April 30, 1994, was the first day of work for Mara Luz Matos Bravet at the Banco Popular de Ahorro (BPA); he remembers it with the precision of a Swiss watch. “I didn’t come to the bank looking for a job, but she knocked on my door,” she recalls now that she has accumulated almost three decades of work at this financial institution and is grateful for the first opportunity that made her grow. As a professional and a human.
“BPA is already four decades old. In the first 10 years of its existence, it was founded and founded, so I almost feel like a founder. I’ve witnessed many changes during this time, from manual work to digital transformation, and on the other hand, I’ve also been able to share in the employees’ responses to each process.
“Just as the country has had its historic generation, I understand that the bank has had one too, and I am very proud to be a part of it. There is a new generation now and many of us are about to retire, but I hope that those who “We will take on the same responsibility,” emphasizes Matos Bravet, who runs the Savings Bank in the La Victoria district of the city of Las Tunas.
Responsibility, respect, discretion, honesty, and dedication are words associated with BPA that she has not lacked in her daily practice or in the teaching of every student she has trained. These principles apply to Ana Iris Aguilera Carralero, who has been with the company for 38 years, most of them as an auditor.
“I owe my training to the bank; this site trains people. You can tell that an employee in this industry is characterized by correct behavior in the way he speaks and expresses himself in public. Here, you acquire values and change your attitude towards life.
“Auditing is also a school and a field that requires constant training in all products and services,” he affirms, certain that he has been working specifically in this field for 22 years.
Ana Iris speaks with special devotion about the work of the women in the facility, which is more than commendable, as is customary in Cuban society, considering that many have to reconcile professional life and leadership with motherhood and caring for the family and often the elderly. “It takes a lot of sacrifice, commitment, and dedication,” he says.
Mara Luz, who more than once went to work very ill, speaks correctly of the above because her responsibility as the head of the team and in the care of the institution requires it. On the other hand, he carefully adjusts his vacation times to be able to see his family who lives far away. “In the bank, if you are, you must be” a phrase e determined to express the rigor and responsibility that this exercise entails
From financial sector involvement to gender integration Mercedes Asprón Hernández, manager of the squad department at the company’s provincial headquarters, knows Caridad well and gives us the statistics in a jiffy.
“We have 536 employees in the BPA and 333 in Las Tunas, so 62 percent are women, a reality that can also be felt in leadership, where the majority of the workforce is female,” he emphasizes.
Anyone who feels in their family environment what the demographic dynamics have been describing for years for the Greater Antilles: the aging population and increasing care, also speaks aptly for growing up in the face of difficulties. Now the trained dermatologist is preparing for a new phase in her life: retirement.
“I try to instill in young people a sense of discipline and commitment, and in particular that there is nothing stopping women from growing. I have always enjoyed helping youth and educating youngsters to do their best in their performance, to communicate, to love their work, to present themselves with a good forl education and customer service… that’s how it will be; there will be no dissatisfied or poorly looked after people,” he points out, thereby acknowledging his reputation as an educator
Sleepless hours in the daily work routine, countless sacrifices, efforts for the development of the institution, contributions to the formation of the youngest generations, and much more have in common these three women dedicated to the service of the Banco Popular de Ahorro and, in short, Cuba. His incantations refer to the everyday heroism of Cuban women and show a sense of belonging to a financial company that, in its 40 years, has had one of its greatest strengths in its workers.
