Filipino banker helps fellowmen purchase properties in Hawaii

A Filipino banker has made a name for himself in the field of residential mortgage loans in the State of Hawaii.

Roland Casamina, a native of Ilocos Sur's Narvacan town, started as an employee in his early 20s in a bank in Hawaii before achieving his current status as a businessman.

"For 10 years, I was an independent employee who was paid based on loan production," Casamina said in an interview.

Casamina started making a name for himself in the field of residential mortgage loans when the bank where he used to work was sold to a bigger bank. Casamina started his business to help the Filipino community in the state of Hawaii by assisting families in purchasing houses.

"When the bank was sold to a bigger bank, I started House of Finance, Inc. in 1995 until the present time," Casamina added.

Casamina reminisced about how people used to look down on them when he first arrived in Hawaii in 1986.

"The challenges we encountered when we first came was that the groups before us looked down on us. Since we were the largest group who came to this state in 1966, we were looked down upon by the other ethnic groups and all those before us," he said.

Being underestimated in a new environment did not bother Casamina from achieving success in life. He founded the company to serve the people of the State of Hawaii when it comes to the purchasing and refinancing of residential properties.

"House of Finance has been growing steadily since its inception," said Casamina.

Since then, Casamina's business has expanded and was included among the Top 20 in Residential Mortgage Loan Production in the state, with Pacific News ranking House of Finance eighth among the top 20 residential lenders in Hawaii in 2021.

Casamina added that his family-run company also supported many organizations by providing scholarships and is now building a Filipino Community Center.