Federico (Picoy) Fernandez mooted the concept and was the prime mover in starting the Overseas Filipino Investors Bank in the second half of 2004. Through the internet, worldwide membership to the group slowly rose and is now close to 400. He has been Interim President of Audax WWNetwork Corporation, the official Promoter of OFI Bank.

An Atenean in his early years, Picoy obtained his BS Civil Engineering from Mapua Institute of Technology is a registered Civil Engineer, Philippines. Never too old to learn, this father of eight and grandfather of seven will soon be obtaining his MBA from the University of Alaska this year. His initial career has been in flying from 1965-79, as pilot with PAL, a company in Indonesia, and Munz Northern Airlines, Alaska. He then joined Alaska Dept of Transportation from 20 years till 1999 responsible for Highway Projects. Simultaneously, he set up Audax Corporation to engage in computer assembly (1988-90) and Ace Computers (1990-94), a computer software/hardware store and manufacturer Ace brand PCs according to customer specifications. He developed highway softwares "Estimax for Windows"© and "Earthwork"©. He also served as Zoning Enforcement Officer in the Municipality of Anchorage, 2002.

When asked why he is spearheading a bank for the OFWs, he says, “The OFWs need quality banking and financial services from a bank they can call their own, during their lifetime. Synergy will be created in the home country. They surely want the best for themselves.” When told that getting a bank charter is a giant task, he says, “It’s doable. It’s an untapped gold mine. It’s a matter of mining it the right way. Mining means putting the minds of overseas Filipinos together - in solidarity. Our numbers – 8 million overseas Filipinos - will make it doable. The big challenge lies in how to disperse the information, but information technology will help us in a way not attempted by others before.”

Realizing a vision is not new to Picoy. Out of nothing, he created two pieces of software that increased the productivity of the engineers and technicians in the State of Alaska Dept of Transportation (which awarded him $20,000 for “Estimax for Windows”). He also conceptualized personal computers built “the way you want them” way back in 1990-94, well before Dell introduced the concept.

Picoy likes to quote mountain climbers when asked why they want to climb tall mountains. Their answer is “because they’re there.” In a similar vein, the financial resources of the overseas Filipinos are there. “We shall try to harness those resources for the common good,” he says. “If we – the older, more knowledgeable and experienced migrants – are not going to do it, who else will? If we don’t do it now, kailan pa?”

Picoy is married to Kamsiah, his lovely Indonesian wife, whom he met while he was stationed in Kalimantan, Indonesia, where he still maintains a second home.

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