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87-474: In July 2024, Secretary Alfredo Pascual and Mayor Mytha Ann B. Canoy graced Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc.'s inauguration of a PHP12.8 billion (US$ 220) production line in San Fernando, Cebu . It has a capacity of 3 Mt annually, or 6000 tons per day of cement clinker and features advanced cement kiln renewal technology. Taiheiyo Cement was created through a series of mergers and acquisitions dating back to

174-597: A terracotta seal with the American Express Eagle. In 1890–91 the company constructed a new ten-story building by Edward H. Kendall on the site of its former headquarters on Hudson Street . By 1903, the company had assets of some $ 28 million, second only to the National City Bank of New York among financial institutions in the city. To reflect this, the company purchased the Broadway buildings and site. At

261-588: A 4.61% worldwide market share by payment volume in 2022, compared to 38.73% for Visa and 24% for Mastercard. While American Express credit cards are accepted at 99% of US merchants that accept credit cards ( Costco being a notable exception), they are much less accepted in Europe and Asia. American Express offers various types of cards including travel and dining cards, everyday spending points cards, and cash back cards. Each category has several card options with different benefits and reward structures. High-profile cards like

348-600: A 400-seat theater in U.P. Diliman from a businessman alumnus; a completed 4-storey dormitory in U.P. Manila donated from a fraternity and a sorority; a 70-hectare site for a U.P. campus in New Clark City also from BCDA; a 5-hectare site and academic building for the U.P. Alabang technology hub donated from an alumni family; and a 3-hectare site and a building from a Mindanao-based business group for an extension campus of U.P. Los Baños in Panabo . Pascual forged partnerships with

435-661: A better solution than the letter of credit. Berry introduced the American Express Traveler's Cheque which was launched in 1891 in denominations of $ 10, $ 20, $ 50, and $ 100. Traveler's cheques established American Express as a truly international company. In 1914, at the onset of World War I , American Express in Europe was among the few companies to honor the letters of credit (issued by various banks) held by Americans in Europe, because other financial institutions refused to assist these stranded travelers. The British government appointed American Express its official agent at

522-717: A financial services holding company and made several acquisitions, creating an investment banking arm. In mid-1981 it purchased Sanford I. Weill 's Shearson Loeb Rhoades , the second-largest securities firm in the United States to form Shearson/American Express . Shearson Loeb Rhoades itself was the culmination of several mergers in the 1970s as Weill's Hayden, Stone & Co. merged with Shearson, Hammill & Co. in 1974, to form Shearson Hayden Stone . Shearson Hayden Stone then merged with Loeb, Rhoades, Hornblower & Co. (formerly Loeb, Rhoades & Co. ) to form Shearson Loeb Rhoades in 1979. With capital totaling $ 250 million at

609-521: A local bank card clearing business license in China. In a court case Ohio v. American Express Co. (2018), merchants filed a class action lawsuit against American Express and claimed that charging high fees to merchants is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act . According to the lawsuit, American Express charges significantly higher fees than other credit card providers. In January 2017,

696-433: A research-intensive university, raising its international profile as a global university, and strengthening its role in national development as a public service university. He gave priority to creating the enabling conditions needed for achieving these objectives. To intensify research, he launched new research initiatives such as Emerging Interdisciplinary Research in 2012 and the U.P. Resilience Institute in 2016. He funded

783-525: A result of antitrust litigation brought by the United States Department of Justice . In January 2004, American Express reached a deal to have its cards issued by MBNA . Initially decried by Mastercard executives as nothing but an "experiment", the cards were issued beginning in October 2004. An agreement was reached regarding the acquisition of MBNA by Bank of America whereby Bank of America owned

870-414: A tightly controlled, single-use card number. In March 2008, Standard Chartered Bank acquired American Express Bank Ltd, the international banking subsidiary of American Express for $ 823 million. On November 10, 2008, during the 2007–2008 financial crisis , the company received Federal Reserve System approval to convert to a bank holding company , making it eligible for government assistance under

957-774: A trustee of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), and as Chairperson of the U.P. Foundation and the U.P. Provident Fund, among others. Pascual is a Life Member of the MAP and the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX), and a past president of the Rotary Club of Makati. He is also a member and has served on

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1044-656: Is one of the largest US banks , and is ranked 77th on the Fortune 500 and 28th on the list of the most valuable brands by Forbes . In 2023, it was ranked 63rd in the Forbes Global 2000 . Amex also owns a direct bank . Founded in 1850 as a freight forwarding company, Amex introduced financial and travel services during the early 1900s. It developed its first paper charge card in 1958, gold card in 1966, green card in 1969, platinum card in 1984, and Centurion Card in 1999. The "Don't Leave Home Without It" advertising campaign

1131-529: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a manufacturing company is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Alfredo Pascual Alfredo " Fred " Espinosa Pascual (born July 7, 1948) is a Filipino international development banker and finance expert who served as the Secretary of Trade and Industry under the administration of President Bongbong Marcos from June 30, 2022 to August 1, 2024. He also served as

1218-531: The American Bureau of Shipping , a maritime concern (1977–86), and later J.J. Kenny, and Standard & Poor's , the latter of which renamed the building for itself. American Express extended its reach nationwide by arranging affiliations with other express companies (including Wells Fargo – the replacement for the two former companies that merged to form American Express), railroads, and steamship companies. In 1857, American Express started its expansion in

1305-536: The American Railway Express Agency formed in July 1918. The new entity took custody of all the pooled equipment and property of existing express companies (the largest share of which, 40%, came from American Express, who had owned the rights to the express business over 71,280 miles (114,710 km) of railroad lines, and had 10,000 offices, with over 30,000 employees). American Express executives discussed

1392-782: The Angeles University in Angeles, Pampanga , Philippines in 2012; an honorary Doctor of Sciences by the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila ( University of the City of Manila ) in 2015; an honorary Doctor of Humanities by Partido State University in 2016; and a PhD in Social Science (honoris causa) by Shu-Te University, Taiwan in 2016. In October 2024, Pascual was conferred the Arangkada Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024 by

1479-590: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) as a senior investment officer in the private sector department. He then became director of its Private Sector Infrastructure Finance Division and its Capital Markets & Finance Sectors Division. Pascual later served as advisor on public-private partnership in infrastructure. He had postings in ADB's resident offices in New Delhi, India and Jakarta, Indonesia. He also represented ADB on

1566-460: The Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan . Amex is the fourth-largest card network globally based on purchase volume, behind China UnionPay , Visa , and Mastercard . 141.2 million Amex cards were in force worldwide as of December 31, 2023, with an average annual spend per card member of US$ 24,059. That year, Amex handled over $ 1.7 trillion in purchase volume on its network. Amex

1653-665: The Tribeca section of Manhattan. For years it enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the movement of express shipments (goods, securities, currency, etc.) throughout New York State. In 1874, American Express moved its headquarters to 65 Broadway in what was becoming the Financial District of Manhattan, a location it was to retain through two buildings. In 1854, the American Express Co. purchased a lot on Vesey Street in New York City as

1740-627: The Troubled Asset Relief Program . At that time, American Express had total consolidated assets of about $ 127 billion. In June 2009, $ 3.39 billion in TARP funds were repaid plus $ 74.4 million in dividend payments. In July 2009, the company ended its obligations under TARP by buying back $ 340 million in Treasury warrants. As part of the conversion, the company reduced or closed many business lines of credit. In 2009, American Express introduced

1827-444: The "One-U.P." paradigm to unify the U.P. System of eight constituent universities spread over 15 campuses across the country and leverage the strengths of 60,000 students, 4,000 faculty, and 8,500 support staff. This initiative encouraged collaborative efforts toward harmonized policies and integrated systems, promoting high-quality education and research. In the academic sphere, Pascual made significant strides in transforming U.P. into

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1914-478: The $ 226 million credit card portfolio of Bank of Hawaii , then a division of Pacific Century Financial Corporation In January 2006, American Express sold its Bank of Hawaii card portfolio to Bank of America ( MBNA ). Until 2004, Visa and Mastercard rules prohibited issuers of their cards from issuing American Express cards in the United States. This meant, as a practical matter, that U.S. banks could not issue American Express cards. These rules were struck down as

2001-786: The 1980s, began accepting cards using the Visa and Mastercard payment networks. In 2011, Amex launched the Blue Cash Preferred Card credit card. In October 2012, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) required three American Express subsidiaries to refund an estimated $ 85 million to approximately 250,000 customers for illegal card practices between 2003 and 2012. Allegations included that American Express made misleading statements regarding signup bonuses, charged unlawful late fees, discriminated against applicants due to age, and failed to report consumer complaints to regulators. Also in October 2012, American Express and Walmart announced

2088-726: The 20th President of the University of the Philippines (U.P.) System, from 2011 to 2017. He was a member of the U.P. Board of Regents, the university's highest policy-making and governing body, representing the alumni, just before he was elected as U.P. President. At the time of his appointment as Secretary of Trade and Industry, he was the President of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) and an independent director of publicly-listed companies including SM Investments, Concepcion Industrial, and Megawide Construction . He

2175-520: The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that American Express could block merchants that accept its cards from steering customers to other cards, like those offered by Visa and Mastercard. In June 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the 2nd Circuit's ruling. In 2018, the Gold Card was converted to a credit card for UK residents, but remains a charge card in

2262-952: The Advanced Bank Management program at the Asian Institute of Management . In the 1970s, Pascual was department manager in Procter and Gamble , project manager in Bancom Development Corporation, assistant vice-president in Philippine Pacific Capital Corporation (now RCBC Capital ), and vice president in First Metro Investment Corporation. He then joined the faculty of the Asian Institute of Management as finance professor from 1980 to 1989. From 1989 to 2008, Pascual worked in

2349-556: The American Express Travelers Cheque Card, a stored-value card that serves the same purposes as a traveler's cheque, but can be used in stores like a credit card. Amex discontinued the card in October 2007. On September 30, 2005, American Express completed the corporate spin-off of its American Express Financial Advisors unit, Ameriprise Financial , to its shareholders and RSM McGladrey acquired American Express Tax & Business Services (TBS). In 2006,

2436-610: The American Express network. American Express was, at the time, known for cutting its interchange fee to merchants and restaurants if they accepted only American Express and no other credit or charge cards. This prompted competitors such as Visa and Mastercard to file complaints as the tactics gave Amex exclusivity at restaurants. Capitalizing on this elitist image, American Express frequently mentioned such exclusive partnerships in its advertising. Aside from some holdouts including Neiman Marcus , which continued exclusivity until 2011,

2523-814: The Commission—first in September due to time constraints, and then in December due to concerns raised by Representative Johnny Pimentel and Senator Imee Marcos regarding the Philippine Economic Zone Authority , an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry . He was reappointed by Marcos Jr. and was sworn again on December 16. He was eventually confirmed by the Commission in February 2023. As

2610-522: The Costco card accounts was significant; in the first quarter without Costco cards, company profit dropped 10% and revenue dropped 5% compared to the previous year. On March 1, 2017, ANZ announced that it was no longer issuing American Express cards, with them phased out entirely by August 5, 2017. In October 2017, American Express established a joint venture company, LianTong ( 连通 ), in China to operate its payment card brand locally. In June 2020, it obtained

2697-502: The DTI Secretary, Pascual worked to foster innovation-driven industrialization, promote trade and investment, nurture MSMEs, and ensure consumer protection while navigating the country toward a more sustainable and inclusive economy. During his tenure, the DTI launched a series of successful investment roadshows across the globe. These initiatives significantly boosted the country’s visibility on

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2784-455: The Fee Party's legal bills, and Discover Card was able to increase their acceptance among Boston restaurants by 375%. Kenneth Chenault , then head of Travel Related Services prior to becoming American Express CEO, cut fees to bring these restaurants back into the fold. American Express then shifted its focus from exclusivity to broadening acceptance, adding mainstream merchants like Walmart to

2871-492: The First World War, the 21-story neo-classical American Express Co. Building was constructed in 1916–17 to the design of James L. Aspinwall, of the firm of Renwick, Aspinwall & Tucker, the successor to the architectural practice of James Renwick Jr. The building consolidated the two lots of the former buildings with a single address: 65 Broadway . This building was part of the "Express Row" section of lower Broadway at

2958-566: The Green, Gold, and Platinum cards cater to frequent travelers and diners with perks tailored to these activities. In 1850, American Express was started as a freight forwarding company in Buffalo, New York . It was founded as a joint-stock corporation by the merger of the cash-in-transit companies owned by Henry Wells (Wells & Company), William G. Fargo (Livingston, Fargo & Company), and John Warren Butterfield (Wells, Butterfield & Company,

3045-548: The ICC was drawn to its strict control of the railroad express business. However, the solution did not come immediately to hand. The solution to this problem came as a coincidence to other problems during World War I. During the winter of 1917, the United States suffered a severe coal shortage and on December 26 President Woodrow Wilson commandeered the railroads on behalf of the United States government to move federal troops, their supplies, and coal. Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo

3132-536: The Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC) in recognition of his "44 years of public service, especially his most recent achievements as the former Secretary of Trade and Industry." American Express The American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment cards . It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street , also known as American Express Tower, in

3219-657: The Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award from the U.P. Alumni Association in 2017. For his achievements as U.P. President, he was also given by the Asia CEO Awards in 2018 the recognition as Circle of Excellence awardee for the category Global Filipino Executive of the Year. Pascual was also conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of the Philippines in 2020; an honorary Doctor of Pedagogy by

3306-533: The Nihon Cement Company was leased from the government in 1883. Nihon Cement merged with Chichibu Onoda in 1998 to form Taiheiyo Cement. Taiheiyo Cement has a number of subsidiaries in countries around the world. In the United States , its subsidiary Taiheiyo Cement USA, Inc., serves as the parent company of CalPortland Company . This article about a Japanese corporation- or company-related topic

3393-593: The Philippines chair and former university vice president for academic affairs Ma. Serena Diokno , former Department of English & Comparative Literature chair Consolacion Alaras, former chancellors Sergio Cao of University of the Philippines Diliman and Luis Rey Velasco of University of the Philippines Los Banos , and Social Weather Stations fellow and School of Labor and Industrial Relations professor Virginia Teodosio. Pascual institutionalized

3480-753: The Philippines Diliman and took up B.S. Chemistry , graduating cum laude in 1969. He received his Master of Business Administration degree from the same university in 1972. While at the University of the Philippines, he was initiated into the Upsilon Sigma Phi . He attended the EC-ASEAN Teacher Program on the Management of Strategic and Organizational Change at the INSEAD Euro-Asia Centre in Fontainebleau , France . His early career

3567-453: The Shearson family, creating Shearson Lehman/American Express. Lehman CEO and former trader Lewis Glucksman became CEO of Shearson Lehman/American Express. In 1984, Shearson/American Express acquired Investors Diversified Services (IDS), bringing with it a fleet of financial advisors and investment products. In 1988, Shearson Lehman acquired the E.F. Hutton & Co. , a brokerage firm that

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3654-408: The U.P. Presidency, funding from the government was declining. But he campaigned for and succeeded in getting big increases in government funding for U.P. The U.P. budget for operating expenses, in particular, has quadrupled. Around P12 billion has been allocated for modernizing the physical and cyber infrastructure of U.P. campuses (funding about 80 new buildings and 60 major renovations) and upgrading

3741-556: The U.P. Television on the Internet (TVUP) to fill the vacuum of reliable and university-based TV programs in the country. The university also entered into an agreement with the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network , known as the "Fact-Check" project for faculty members to appear regularly in forums related to the 2013 Philippine general election . Pascual created over 800 One-U.P. Professorial Chairs and Faculty Grants in 2015. That

3828-864: The UK division of American Express joined the Product Red coalition and issued a Red Card, donating with each purchase through The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to help African women and children with HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. In late 2007, the company announced the Plum Card for small business owners. In March 2008, American Express acquired the Corporate Payment Services business of General Electric , which primarily focused on providing purchasing card solutions for large global clients, for $ 1.1 billion in cash. The transaction added V-Payment to its product portfolio. V-Payment enables

3915-635: The United States, and in 2015 in Canada, Costco ended its relationship with Amex that had provided co-branded Costco membership cards since 2004. The cards issued by Costco in the United States were an extension of an exclusive deal between Costco and American Express dating from 1999. Costco was the last major US merchant that accepted American Express cards exclusively. Costco's Canadian stores ended its exclusive deal with American Express in January 2015, in favor of one with Capital One and Mastercard. Citigroup became

4002-598: The World Expert Lecture Series. He introduced international quality assurance of degree programs to benchmark U.P. against the best in the region. To strengthen public service, he created the U.P. Padayon Public Service Office which organized disaster relief operations and provided training in disaster management, among others. He pursued arrangements for U.P. to provide technical assistance and policy studies support to government departments and offices, local government units, and other public universities. launched

4089-617: The ZYNC charge card, a white card targeting young adults. The card was later discontinued. In November 2010, the UK division of American Express was cautioned by the Office of Fair Trading for the use of controversial charging orders against those in debt. The company was one of four companies who were allegedly encouraging customers to turn their unsecured credit card debts into a form of secured debt. In November 2011, Neiman Marcus , which gave general-purpose card exclusivity to American Express since

4176-463: The academic requirements of faculty and students. In May 2022, then President-elect Bongbong Marcos announced that he would nominate Pascual to be his Secretary of Trade and Industry . He assumed the post on June 30, 2022, following the inauguration of Marcos albeit in an ad interim capacity, pending confirmation from the Commission on Appointments . His nomination, however, was bypassed twice by

4263-497: The area of financial services by launching a money order business to compete with the United States Post Office 's money orders. Sometime between 1888 and 1890, J. C. Fargo took a trip to Europe and returned frustrated and infuriated. Despite the fact that he was president of American Express and that he carried with him traditional letters of credit , he found it difficult to obtain cash anywhere except in major cities. Fargo went to Marcellus Flemming Berry and asked him to create

4350-485: The bank. Safra then opened a competing bank. In response, American Express launched an international smear campaign against Safra by inaccurately reporting to news and media outlets in that Safra was being investigated by the FBI for being involved in the Iran–Contra affair , along with drug trafficking and the mafia. All of the accusations were confirmed to be false and led to the resignation of Harry L. Freeman, public relations chief of American Express, after admitting to

4437-479: The beginning of World War I. They were to deliver letters, money, and relief parcels to British prisoners of war. Their employees went into camps to cash drafts for both British and French prisoners and arranged for them to receive money from home. By the end of the war they were delivering 150 tonnes of parcels per day to prisoners in six countries. In 1915, American Express established a travel division and soon established its first travel agency . Albert K. Dawson

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4524-509: The benefit of the researchers and the university. Recognizing the role of the arts and humanities in developing a sense of national identity and unity among Filipinos, Pascual implemented the Cultural Infrastructure Development Program (CIDP) in 2014 with government funding of close to ₱ 400 million . CIDP provided the funding for the rehabilitation and upgrading of cultural facilities in various campuses for performing arts and creative works. To internationalize U.P., Pascual initiated in 2014

4611-430: The board of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations (PCFR) and the Shareholders' Association of the Philippines, Inc. (SharePHIL). Pascual is an independent director of Banco de Oro who replaced Walter Wassmer. Pascual's accomplishments as U.P. President were recognized with the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award in 2014 from the Philippine President, the Rotary Golden Wheel Award for Higher Education in 2013, and

4698-448: The budding Financial District and into rented offices in two five-story brownstone commercial buildings at 63 and 65 Broadway that were owned by the Harmony family. In 1880, American Express built a new warehouse behind the Broadway Building at 46 Trinity Place. The designer is unknown, but it has a façade of brick arches that are reminiscent of pre-skyscraper New York. American Express has long been out of this building, but it still bears

4785-439: The company. In 1979, American Express acquired 50% of the cable subsidiary of Warner Communications , forming Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment , for $ 175 million in cash and short-term notes. It owned two-thirds of MTV , Nickelodeon , and The Movie Channel . The venture was unprofitable, and, in 1985, Amex sold its 50% interest to Viacom for $ 450 million. In the 1980s, American Express embarked on an effort to become

4872-536: The construction of modern laboratories including the ₱ 1 billion National Institutes of Health building and the ₱ 350 million Philippine Genome Center (PGC) complex. He sent more faculty members for advanced research studies abroad; incentivized the return to U.P. of Filipino PhDs from foreign institutions; and enhanced the rewards for research outputs. He created the Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (TTBDO) to institutionalize efforts to commercialize intellectual properties resulting from research for

4959-459: The corporate board of the Mutual Fund Company of the Philippines and other corporations in China, India, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands. Dr. Pascual was selected among the 11 nominees for the presidency of the University of the Philippines System in 2011. Some of the other nominees were: School of Economics professor and current Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno , former College of Law dean Raul Pangalangan , National Historical Commission of

5046-455: The customer loans and American Express processed the transactions. American Express dismissed Bank of America from its antitrust litigation against Visa, Mastercard, and other banks. The first card from the partnership, the Bank of America Rewards American Express card, was released on June 30, 2006. In June 2005, American Express introduced ExpressPay, a contactless payment system based on wireless RFID . In July 2005, American Express issued

5133-408: The end of the Wells-Fargo reign in 1914, an aggressive new president, George Chadbourne Taylor (1868–1923), who had worked his way up through the company over the previous thirty years, decided to build a new headquarters. The old buildings, dubbed by The New York Times as "among the ancient landmarks" of lower Broadway, were inadequate for such a rapidly expanding concern. After some delays due to

5220-420: The entire scandal. In July 1989, American Express publicly apologized to Edmond Safra and donated $ 8 million to the charity of his choice. In 1990, American Express sold its Swiss banking operations to Compagnie de Banque et d'Investissements, which led to the creation of Union Bancaire Privée (UBP). In 1984, Amex launched the Platinum Card, billed as an "ultra-exclusive" credit card with a $ 250 annual fee. It

5307-443: The establishment of the Cement Manufacturing Company (later renamed the Onoda Cement Company) in 1881. Onoda Cement purchased California Portland Cement Company from the CalMat Company in 1990 for $ 316 million, after having acquired a 19% stake in CalMat in 1988. The Chichibu Cement Company was founded in 1923, and it merged with Onoda Cement in 1994 to form the Chichibu Onoda Cement Corporation. The cement plant that later became

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5394-536: The exclusive issuer of Costco's credit cards and Visa replaced American Express as the exclusive credit card accepted at Costco's stores in the United States. All TrueEarnings card accounts and balances held by American Express were sold to Citigroup, and new Costco Anywhere Visa cards were sent to Costco members prior to the switch date. The Costco partnership represented 8%, or $ 80 billion, of American Express' billed business and about 20%, or about $ 14 billion, of its interest-bearing credit portfolio. The impact of losing

5481-443: The high-fee Centurion Card , often referred to as the "black card," which caters to an even more affluent customer segment. The card was initially available only to select users of the Platinum card. American Express created the card line amid rumors and urban legends in the 1980s that it produced an ultra-exclusive black card for elite users who could purchase anything with it. In December 2000, American Express agreed to acquire

5568-505: The hospital equipment of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). Among the major donations that Pascual got for U.P. are the land and the building for the new U.P. Bonifacio Global City (UP-BGC) campus from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and a business group, respectively. Now operational, UP-BGC provides those working in BGC and nearby areas convenient access to U.P.’s professional programs in law, business, industrial engineering, statistics, etc. Other donations are

5655-423: The international stage, drawing investments in key sectors. On July 31, 2024, the Presidential Communications Office announced his resignation as he plans to move back to the private sector. Pascual was the lead convenor of the Automated Election System (AES) Watch, an independent, multi-sector coalition that monitored and assessed the Philippines’ first-ever nationwide poll automation in May 2010. He served as

5742-509: The launch of Bluebird, a prepaid debit card with roadside assistance and identity theft protection that can also be used as a substitute for a traditional transactional account whereby users can have payments deposited to the account and have insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation . In October 2013, Amex sold most of its publications: Travel + Leisure , Food & Wine , Executive Travel , Black Ink , and Departures magazines, to Time Inc. Time restructured

5829-455: The official launch date. The card was launched with an annual fee of $ 6, $ 1 higher than Diners Club, to be seen as a premium product. The first cards were made of paper, with the account number and card member's name typed. In 1959, American Express became the first company to issue embossed plastic cards. In 1966, American Express introduced the Gold Card for "big-spending members". In 1977, James D. Robinson III became chairman and CEO of

5916-420: The possibility of launching a travel charge card as early as 1946, but it was not until Diners Club launched a card in March 1950, that American Express began to seriously consider the possibility. At the end of 1957, under American Express CEO Ralph Reed the company entered the business and by the launch date of October 1, 1958, public interest had become so significant that 250,000 cards were issued prior to

6003-460: The practice largely ended in 1991. In April 1992, American Express spun off First Data in an initial public offering . In 1993, Harvey Golub became CEO of American Express. That year, American Express negotiated the sale of Shearson's retail brokerage and investment management business to Primerica . The Shearson business was merged with Primerica's Smith Barney to create Smith Barney Shearson . In June 1994, American Express completed

6090-614: The private sector to build revenue-generating projects, such as the U.P. Town Center in Diliman. The commercial center generates hundreds of millions of pesos annually for the university, which are used to fund programs not eligible for government funding (e.g., enhanced personnel benefits for retirement and hospitalization). Pascual rolled out e-UP, a system-wide integrated information system designed to achieve administrative efficiency, sharpen decision making, and strengthen control. The project included substantial investments in hardware, fiber optic networks, and internet bandwidth to also support

6177-419: The publications, which are now owned by Dotdash Meredith . In 2013, the company opened its first airport lounge, offering access to certain cardmembers. In March 2014, American Express announced the corporate spin-off its corporate travel business as American Express Global Business Travel and the sale of 50% of the business to an investor group led by Certares LP for $ 900 million. Effective in 2016 in

6264-486: The shift of the U.P. academic calendar to an August start in order to synchronize it with its partner universities in ASEAN and in other parts of the world. He launched the programs for student exchange (MOVE U.P.), and for research collaboration by faculty and postgraduate students (COOPERATE). More funds were made available for international travel grants for paper presentation, and for bringing to U.P. eminent world leaders under

6351-482: The site for its stables. The company's first New York headquarters was an 1858 marble Italianate palazzo at 55–61 Hudson Street , which had a busy freight depot on the ground story with a spur line from the Hudson River Railroad . A stable was constructed in 1867, five blocks north at 4–8 Hubert Street. The company prospered sufficiently that headquarters were moved in 1874 from the wholesale shipping district to

6438-489: The spin-off of the remaining investment banking and institutional businesses as Lehman Brothers , ending its foray into the brokerage business. In September 1994, the Optima True Grace card was introduced. The card was unique in that it offered a grace period on all purchases whether a balance was carried on the card or not, not charging interest on new purchases immediately for cards with unpaid balances. The card

6525-403: The successor earlier in 1850 of Butterfield, Wasson & Company). Wells and Fargo also started Wells Fargo & Co. in 1852 when Butterfield and other directors objected to the proposal that American Express extend its operations to California. American Express initially established its headquarters in a building at the intersection of Jay Street and Hudson Street in what was later called

6612-555: The time of its acquisition, Shearson Loeb Rhoades was the second-largest brokerage firm , behind Merrill Lynch . After the purchase of Shearson, Weill was given the position of president of American Express in 1983. Weill grew increasingly unhappy with responsibilities within the company and his conflicts with CEO James D. Robinson III . Weill soon realized that he was not positioned to be named CEO and resigned in August 1985. In 1984, American Express acquired Lehman Brothers and added it to

6699-431: The time. The building completed the continuous masonry wall of its block-front and assisted in transforming Broadway into the "canyon" of neo-classical masonry office towers familiar to this day. American Express sold this building in 1975, but retained travel services there. The building was also the headquarters over the years of other prominent firms, including investment bankers J.& W. Seligman & Co . (1940–74),

6786-521: The use of Visa and Mastercard. The rationale was due to far lower fees as compared to American Express' fees at the time (which were about 4% for each transaction versus around 1.2% for Visa and Mastercard). The revolt, known as the "Boston Fee Party" (alluding to the Boston Tea Party ), spread to over 250 restaurants across the United States, including restaurants in other cities such as New York City , Chicago , and Los Angeles . Visa offered to pay

6873-456: Was also a former chief executive officer of the Institute of Corporate Directors, a non-stock, non-profit organization established in 1999 to lead in the advocacy for good governance in the corporate sector of the Philippines. Born to Armando E. Pascual and Melania B. Espinosa, Pascual graduated valedictorian from the University of Santo Tomas High School . He then enrolled in the University of

6960-399: Was assigned the task of consolidating the railway lines for the war effort. All contracts between express companies and railroads were nullified and McAdoo proposed that all existing express companies be consolidated into a single company to serve the country's needs. This ended American Express's express business and removed them from the ICC's interest. The result was that a new company called

7047-547: Was discontinued a few years later. In 1998, Amex launched the Blue credit card, targeted at young adults, in the UK after testing it in other countries. The card had a smart chip and users were encouraged to pay bills and get information via the company website. It launched in the US in 1999. A television media campaign for Blue adopted the 1979 UK Synthpop hit " Cars " by Gary Numan as its theme music. In 1999, American Express introduced

7134-581: Was instrumental in expanding business operations overseas, even investing in tourist relations with the Soviet Union . During World War I, Dawson was a photographer and film correspondent with the German army. American Express was one of the monopolies that President Theodore Roosevelt had the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) investigate during his administration (1901–1909). The interest of

7221-511: Was introduced in 1975 and renewed in 2005. In the 1980s, Amex acquired and then divested a stake in Shearson . In the 1990s, it stopped reducing interchange fees for merchants who exclusively accepted Amex cards and expanded market share through targeted marketing campaigns. Amex converted to a bank holding company during the 2007–2008 financial crisis . Amex began operating airport lounges in 2013, offering access to certain cardholders. Amex had

7308-475: Was merged with the investment banking business. The investment banking arm was renamed Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc. In 1983, as part of Robinson's plan to expand into international banking of wealthy clients, Amex acquired Trade Development Bank of Geneva from Edmond Safra for US$ 550 million and Safra became a member of the board of directors of Amex. TDB executives were excluded from important company decisions and Safra unsuccessfully tried to repurchase

7395-556: Was offered by invitation only to American Express customers with at least two years of tenure, significant spending, and excellent payment history. In 1987, American Express introduced the Optima card, its first credit card product that did not have to be paid in full at the end of the month. In 1991, a group of restaurants in Boston , including some that were exclusive to Amex, stopped accepting American Express while accepting and encouraging

7482-692: Was spent teaching at the chemistry department of the University of the Philippines College of Science as an instructor. He also taught at the Ateneo de Manila University 's departments of management engineering and business management as a part-time lecturer for over four years. He later became the American Express Foundation Professor of Financial Management from 1980 to 1989, chair of the Master of Business Management program, and director of

7569-541: Was the first time ever in U.P. for such a big number was made available in one go – overcoming the very limited supply of donated professorial chairs. These are annual grants awarded for three years, renewable based on performance. The objective is to recognize more deserving faculty members for excellence in research, teaching, and public service. In the area of finance and administration, Pascual raised for U.P. substantial resources through government budget allocations, donations, and revenue-generating projects. When he assumed

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