28 August 2010
More rural banks are now preparing to offer housing microfinance (HMF) services as RBAP-MABS trains its third batch of bankers on market research for the HMF loan product. Twenty-five (25) participants from 9 rural banks interested in developing housing microfinance services for their clients attended the training held on August 25-27 in Mallig, Isabela.
Held as a collaborative effort of the USAID-supported RBAP-MABS Program and its certified service providers, Punla sa Tao Foundation and Microfinance Innovation Center for Resource and Alternatives (MICRA), the training was initiated by Ms. Praxedes Ignacio, President of the Northeast Luzon Microfinance Council.
The rural banks and microfinance institutions represented in the training were Rural Bank of Mabitac, Philippine Rural Banking Corp. (PR Bank), Mallig Plains Rural Bank, Agri-Business Rural Bank, Cagayan Valley Cooperative Bank, Rural Bank of Luna (Kalinga-Apayao), North Pacific Banking Corp. (a Rural Bank), Rural Bank of Maddela and Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives.
While the focus of the training was on conducting market research to prepare for housing microfinance services, also it also included updates on cash flow analysis for the benefit of the trainees. Cashflow-based lending is at the heart of the RBAP-MABS Approach and allows banks to more appropriately determine the debt capacity of their clients.
The participants received training on the tools for market research with hands-on practice on survey data gathering, processing and analyzing. “It’s a very engaging, informative and helpful workshop for our bank, especially the market research tips,” Ms. Kimberly Cabbigat (Agri-Business Rural Bank) said after the training workshop. The participants reinforced this statement as they further asserted that the workshop helped them with hands-on experiences in analyzing market research data collected in the field.
Mr. Caloy Pasion, the Executive Vice-President of PR Bank shared, “I am happy to say that I appreciate and thanked the facilitators as the training provided very interesting topics and helped get my staff involved.”
The training event is the first module for banks planning to develop and offer housing microfinance services. HMF is a new service that banks are now actively pursuing after the issuance of BSP Circular 678 early this year. The participants will now work over the next month in conducting their own market research for their banks. After this research, the participants will again gather to participate in the second module for the housing microfinance product development course, where the participants will prepare their business plans, strategies and operation manuals.
The RBAP-MABS Program is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). As of June 2010, RBAP-MABS participating banks have already disbursed more than 1,665 housing microfinance loans totaling more than PhP 52.04 million.
More rural banks are now preparing to offer housing microfinance (HMF) services as RBAP-MABS trains its third batch of bankers on market research for the HMF loan product. Twenty-five (25) participants from 9 rural banks interested in developing housing microfinance services for their clients attended the training held on August 25-27 in Mallig, Isabela.
Held as a collaborative effort of the USAID-supported RBAP-MABS Program and its certified service providers, Punla sa Tao Foundation and Microfinance Innovation Center for Resource and Alternatives (MICRA), the training was initiated by Ms. Praxedes Ignacio, President of the Northeast Luzon Microfinance Council.
The rural banks and microfinance institutions represented in the training were Rural Bank of Mabitac, Philippine Rural Banking Corp. (PR Bank), Mallig Plains Rural Bank, Agri-Business Rural Bank, Cagayan Valley Cooperative Bank, Rural Bank of Luna (Kalinga-Apayao), North Pacific Banking Corp. (a Rural Bank), Rural Bank of Maddela and Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives.
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27 August 2010
Bangko mabuhay together with G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned mobile commerce subsidiary of Globe Telecom, brings the benefits of mobile money and convenient remittance pay-out options in Cavite.
Using the GCASH platform, its branches serve as cash-in and cash-out facilities for customers who would like to take advantage of the convenience that mobile money transfer offers. Bangko Mabuhay is also an active pay-out outlet for GCASH REMIT, cash pick-up remittance service under GXI.
Bangko Mabuhay, registered as Rural Bank of Tanza (Cavite), Inc., has over P900M in assets serving thousands of clients in the province.
Bangko Mabuhay together with G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned mobile commerce subsidiary of Globe Telecom, brings the benefits of mobile money and convenient remittance pay-out options in Cavite.
Using the GCASH platform, its branches serve as cash-in and cash-out facilities for customers who would like to take advantage of the convenience that mobile money transfer offers. Bangko Mabuhay is also an active pay-out outlet for GCASH REMIT, cash pick-up remittance service under GXI.
Bangko Mabuhay, registered as Rural Bank of Tanza (Cavite), Inc., has over P900M in assets serving thousands of clients in the province.
See full section printed on Philippine Star on August 27, 2010.
24 August 2010
RBAP-MABS Microinsurance Coordinator Ruth Aseron shared the experiences of rural banks and their insurance partners in microinsurance distribution at the Microinsurance Asian Summit held on August 3-5, 2010 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore.
Organized by Hanson Wade, the event convened leaders and representatives of established institutions and new entrants to the emerging industry of microinsurance. Present at the event was a diversity of key private institutions comprised of underwriters and insurance providers, reinsurers, social investors, technology solutions providers, NGO MFIs, foreign donor agencies and technical assistance providers.
A significant interest of participants at the event was the potential convergence of rural banks’ mobile phone banking and microinsurance services to facilitate cost-efficient payment, administration and claims while partnering with private insurance companies in order to increase access and reduce the costs of managing small accounts.
Secretary General Yoshi Kawai of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) opened the 2-day conference with a discussion on the G20 Initiatives on Microinsurance and the significance of developing relevant policies and regulations founded on financial inclusion and poverty alleviation. This established the theme of the conference as speakers evinced social entrepreneurship with discussions on sustainability of microinsurance products balanced with addressing risk protection needs of the “middle poor” or “mass market”.
The three-day event included workshops that allowed participants to analyze and share experiences from around the region on effective microinsurance product development and distribution.
RBAP-MABS Microinsurance Coordinator Ruth Aseron shared the experiences of rural banks and their insurance partners in microinsurance distribution at the Microinsurance Asian Summit held on August 3-5, 2010 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore.
Organized by Hanson Wade, the event convened leaders and representatives of established institutions and new entrants to the emerging industry of microinsurance. Present at the event was a diversity of key private institutions comprised of underwriters and insurance providers, reinsurers, social investors, technology solutions providers, NGO MFIs, foreign donor agencies and technical assistance providers.
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21 August 2010
The USAID-supported RBAP-MABS program team conducted an operations review of two of its participating banks based in the Bicol Region: the Rural Bank of San Vicente and the Rural Bank of Jose Panganiban. The operations and product review was conducted to assess the banks’ performance and present the status of their microfinance loan products. RBAP-MABS evaluated the banks’ microfinance delivery systems, loan documentation, and Management Information System (MIS). Using this evaluation, the team worked with the bank in recommending improvements for the products’ design and operational system.
Based in Camarines Norte, both banks serve thousands of clients in the area. RB San Vicente serves the microenterpreneurs of Daet, San Vicente and Labo, while RB Jose Panganiban caters to the needs of microenterprise clients in Paracale and Jose Panganiban. Both banks have a branch in Daet, the provincial capital.
The management of RB San Vicente and of RB Jose Panganiban both wish to expand their respective banks’ microfinance operations by offering additional products such as agricultural microfinance, housing microfinance, and microinsurance to their microenterprise clients and to the small farmers in Camarines Norte. With enhancements to their microfinance product and additional new product offerings, the banks will be able to reach out to more clients and expand their operations in Camarines Norte.
On August 17-20, the USAID-supported RBAP-MABS program team conducted an operations review of two of its participating banks based in the Bicol Region: the Rural Bank of San Vicente and the Rural Bank of Jose Panganiban. The operations and product review was conducted to assess the banks’ performance and present the status of their microfinance loan products. RBAP-MABS evaluated the banks’ microfinance delivery systems, loan documentation, and Management Information System (MIS). Using this evaluation, the team worked with the bank in recommending improvements for the products’ design and operational system.
Based in Camarines Norte, both banks serve thousands of clients in the area. RB San Vicente serves the microenterpreneurs of Daet, San Vicente and Labo, while RB Jose Panganiban caters to the needs of microenterprise clients in Paracale and Jose Panganiban. Both banks have a branch in Daet, the provincial capital.
The management of RB San Vicente and of RB Jose Panganiban both wish to expand their respective banks’ microfinance operations by offering additional products such as agricultural microfinance, housing microfinance, and microinsurance to their microenterprise clients and to the small farmers in Camarines Norte. With enhancements to their microfinance product and additional new product offerings, the banks will be able to reach out to more clients and expand their operations in Camarines Norte.
19 August 2010
RBAP’s research and training arm, the Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (RBRDFI), will receive a US$ 100,000 grant from the Interna-tional Labor Organization (ILO) under the Micro-insurance Inno-vation Facility. This collaboration aims to support RBAP members in partnering with insurance compa-nies to offer micro-insurance.
Housed at the ILO’s Social Finance Programme, the Micro-insurance Innovation Facility seeks to increase the availability of quality insurance for the developing world’s low-income families, helping them guard against risks and overcome poverty. The Facility facility was launched in 2008 with the support of a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
This new partnership with the ILO will support training and technical assistance for rural banks to become licensed micro-insurance agents. It will help provide micro-insurance access to potentially millions of rural bank clients and their dependents. This initiative will also support RBRDFI in offering a turnkey approach to ensure rural banks’ cost-efficient compliance with licensing and capability-building requirements as institutional micro-insurance agents. Rural banks will facilitate marketing, selling and servicing of micro-insurance, with the commercial insurance companies issuing the policies.
The partnership with the ILO and the Gates Foundation will expand RBAP’s intiativeinitiative to provide support to member rural banks and reinforces the unique position and important role that rural banks across the country have in providing social protection to the most vulnerable. Through micro-insurance, rural banks would be able tocan provide the assurance and protection that in case of a peril or tragedy, the poor will not become poorer or those who have succeeded in improving their lives will not become impoverished once again.
Manila Times – RBAP’s research and training arm, the Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (RBRDFI), will receive a US$ 100,000 grant from the Interna-tional Labor Organization (ILO) under the Micro-insurance Inno-vation Facility. This collaboration aims to support RBAP members in partnering with insurance compa-nies to offer micro-insurance.
Housed at the ILO’s Social Finance Programme, the Micro-insurance Innovation Facility seeks to increase the availability of quality insurance for the developing world’s low-income families, helping them guard against risks and overcome poverty. The Facility facility was launched in 2008 with the support of a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
This new partnership with the ILO will support training and technical assistance for rural banks to become licensed micro-insurance agents. It will help provide micro-insurance access to potentially millions of rural bank clients and their dependents. This initiative will also support RBRDFI in offering a turnkey approach to ensure rural banks’ cost-efficient compliance with licensing and capability-building requirements as institutional micro-insurance agents. Rural banks will facilitate marketing, selling and servicing of micro-insurance, with the commercial insurance companies issuing the policies.
The partnership with the ILO and the Gates Foundation will expand RBAP’s intiativeinitiative to provide support to member rural banks and reinforces the unique position and important role that rural banks across the country have in providing social protection to the most vulnerable. Through micro-insurance, rural banks would be able tocan provide the assurance and protection that in case of a peril or tragedy, the poor will not become poorer or those who have succeeded in improving their lives will not become impoverished once again.
Read the complete article on Manila Times online.
Bangko Mabuhay together with G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), a wholly-owned mobile commerce subsidiary of Globe Telecom, brings the benefits of mobile money and convenient remittance pay-out options in Cavite.
