Eight officers from India’s Bankers Institute of Rural Development (BIRD), along with two officers from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), visited the Philippines on February 8-13 to study the country’s microfinance industry.
Facilitated by the Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (RBRDFI), the study tour introduced the participants to the Philippine microfinance industry’s best practices and innovative technologies. It included visits to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), People’s Credit and Finance Corporation, Land Bank of the Philippines, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development-Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD-MRI), Cooperative Rural Bank of Bulacan, and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS).
RBAP-MABS presented the training and technical services that it provides to its participating banks, as well as its innovative contributions to the country’s microfinance industry.
Established in 1983 by India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), BIRD is an institute which provides training, research and consultancy services for agriculture and rural development banking in India. It works with both domestic and international institutions in strengthening India’s rural finance and agriculture industries.