At the 2012 Awards Ceremony and Appreciation Lunch for stakeholders on July 4, 2012, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) presented the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) the Financial Inclusion Partner Award for the implementation of the USAID-supported RBAP-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program. BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. and members of the Monetary Board hosted the event that was attended by several BSP partner institutions from the National Capital Region (NCR). This annual event is held by the BSP to recognize the significant contribution of partner institutions and to honor those who have exhibited sustained support considered to be above par with respect to their contemporaries.
The Financial Inclusion Partner Award recognizes the 15-year partnership between the USAID and RBAP, which has provided vital contribution to the BSP’s work in financial inclusion, policy development, capacity building, and consumer protection.
Through training and technical assistance, RBAP-MABS program has helped over 140 rural banks to expand and offer new microfinance products and services. Through their branches and other banking offices,these banks have reached over 970,000 new borrowers, disbursed a total of PhP42.0 billion, and opened nearly 900,00 new micro deposit accounts. RBAP-MABS program has introduced innovations to help rural banks expand theirproducts and services, provide loans to small farmers,micro loans for home improvement, help clients reduce their risks through microinsurance services, and enable rural banks offer mobile phone banking services to their clients.