Katipunan Bank Expands Microfinance Services in Mindanao and the Visayas

Established in 1979 in the quiet town of Katipunan in Zamboanga del Norte, Rural Bank of Katipunan’s original mission was to service the banking needs of the community, particularly the public school teachers.

With competition getting stiffer, the Rural Bank of Katipunan decided to move its main office to Dipolog City, and also changed the bank’s name to Katipunan Bank. In Dipolog City, a new head office building was completed in 2009. The new head office is one of the most impressive buildings in the middle of Dipolog City’s business hub.

Today, Katipunan Bank is a major player in the microfinance industry. It is providing diversified bank products and services that are attuned to the needs of its clients and customers. Katipunan Bank has also adopted modern banking facilities and technologies, including co-branded ATMs, cash cards, and mobile phone banking services.

Katipunan Bank has nine (9) branches and twenty-one Micro Banking Offices (MBOs) located in Mindanao, Cebu, Tagbilaran and Bohol. The bank’s microfinance operations has had an impressive growth, and as of August 2011 had more than 45,000 active microfinance loan borrowers with an outstanding microfinance loan portfolio of more than PhP 234 million. The bank’s total micro deposit accounts now exceed more than 88,900 accounts with an outstanding balance amounting to more than PhP 117 Million.

Katipunan Bank has regarded the bank’s human resources as key to its success. It thus continues to equip and empower its work force with skills and competencies to make them more efficient and productive. This focus on training and enabling the microfinance staff is evident in the bank’s excellent portfolio quality.

Expanding the microfinance products and services to its clients is one of the strategies that Katipunan Bank plans to do including a micro-agri loan product to reach more small farmers and to comply with the required quota under the Agri-Agra law (R.A. 10,000).

Katipunan Bank is a participating bank of the United States Agency for International Development-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services Program.