Tag: microfinance

Latest UpdatesMicroinsurance

USAID and RBAP Receive BSP Financial Inclusion Partner Award

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,

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Latest UpdatesMicroinsurance

2012 RBAP-MABS Microfinance Conference and Awards Ceremony

Over 200 rural bankers and other participants throughout the Philippines attended the 2012 National Roundtable Conference organized by the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) – Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program. The two-day conference is a gathering of all RBAP-MABS participating banks to share and exchange experiences on microfinance operations, new developments in the field, and marks the Programs’ 15th anniversary. The United States Chargé d’Affaires, Ms. Leslie Bassett, opened the 15th year anniversary of RBAP-MABS and Awards Dinner along with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board Member Ignacio Bunye.

The MABS Program, now on its 15th year, was developed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with RBAP.  The Program is overseen by the Office of the President through the Mindanao Development Authority.  The Program works with rural banks to develop their capacity to profitably provide financial services – microloans, microdeposits, microinsurance, …

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Microfinance Information eXchange Shares New Updates for Rural Bankers

The Microfinance Information Exchange, or MIX Market, was formed under the belief that a lack of transparency across microfinance institutions (MFIs) and other microfinance players around the world contributes to stymied growth and prevents institutions from performing their best. Using no deposit bonuses when playing online casino games is also assisted by microfinance transactions. Continue reading on how to claim no deposit bonus codes and win big without spending your own cash. As such, MIX collects and standardizes financial, operational, product, client and social performance data from MFIs and presents a variety of free web-based tools for MFIs to analyze their performance.

MIX Market’s Asia representative Elizabeth Larson presented during the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) 2012 National Roundtable conference to explain how MIX Market’s online benchmarking tools and customized data reports can deliver critical information to rural bankers in the Philippines, as …

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In the NewsLatest Updates

Phl has best microfinance framework

Philippine Star – The Philippines has the best policy and regulatory framework for microfinance in the world, according to the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The EIU is a global consultancy and research outfit that helps business leaders prepare for opportunity, empowering them to act with confidence when making strategic decisions.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monetary Board member Ignacio R. Bunye said one of the key reasons for the distinction is the existence of a regulator that issues supportive and enabling policy as well as capacity building regulations.

“Our main approach as been, and will continue to be, to facilitate the delivery of commercially sustainable microfinance products and services,” Bunye said during awarding ceremonies of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines – Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) program.

A few years back, the BSP was recognized as the only central bank that was encouraging the practice …

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Latest UpdatesMicroinsurance

Banks Now Serve 1 Million Active Micro-Borrowers

Opening the 2012 National Roundtable Conference of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines – Microenterprise Access to Banking Services Program (RBAP-MABS) on June 7, 2012, Ms. Chuchi Fonacier, Managing Director of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), cited a set of impressive statistics on how banks in the Philippines have now expanded access to microfinance services.

In her keynote address before the participants of the conference, she cited BSP data on the lending side: 190 banks with microfinance operations are reaching about one million active borrowers with an outstanding loan portfolio of PhP 7.2 billion (US$170 million). In addition to micro-loans, the BSP has been actively expanding the definition of microfinance to encourage banks to offer a broader range of inclusive financial services in the countryside.

Taking advantage of the regulations, twenty-two (22) banks have introduced micro-agri loan products to their clients; twenty-four (24) banks are offering housing microfinance; while …

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Sharing Experiences Using Mobile Money to Enable Banking Services at Next Bank Asia Event

On May 9-10, 2012, I had the great honor of speaking at the Next Bank Asia in Singapore that was all about the future of banks, financial services, and money. The conference focused on the changes in the consumer market, fast evolving technology, and the key factors that are changing the financial services landscape.

The conference included some of the real movers and shakers in the “new vision” of banking including Brett King, Scott Anthony, James Gardner, Derek Sivers, Richard Kelly and Andrea Kershaw, Gordon Cooper, Oliver Weidlich, Scott Bales and other leading experts. View the presentations online.

Although this is a different audience than I am use to presenting to, I found tremendous interest in the work in the Philippines to incorporate mobile money to better enable banking services.

John Owens talks about emerging markets at #NBASG12 from Next Bank Asia on Vimeo.

Albert van den Broek summed up …

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Call for Nominations: Paeng Microfinance Awards 2012

Dear Partners and Friends,

Rafael B. Buenaventura Micro Finance Resource Center Foundation, Inc. (the RBB Foundation) in partnership with Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc., the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS), PinoyME Foundation, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, are launching the first Rafael B. Buenaventura Award for Outstanding Microfinance Institutions (the “Paeng” Microfinance Awards).

Through this award, the RBB Foundation will recognize Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) who through their initiatives have been able to carry out exemplary work, worthy of emulation, empowering community, sector or barangay. Specifically, the Paeng Microfinance Awards will honor five (5) MFIs for their PIONEERING work in the microfinance industry. PIONEERING work can be typified either as a product, service or delivery mechanism that has been refined or innovated and introduced for the first time or, it can refer to the MFI’s entry into new or remote areas and making …

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Rural Banks Learn Best Practices in Developing Housing Microfinance Products

Fifteen (15) participants from seven (7) Luzon rural banks shared their best practices in developing, marketing, and selling housing microfinance product to their clients at the Training Workshop conducted by the United States Agency for International Development-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services Program, in partnership with the Research and Development Department of GM Bank in Nueva Ecija from March 7-9.

The three-day workshop is part of the technical assistance provided by RBAP-MABS to its participating banks. A Focused Group Discussion (FGD) with GM Bank’s group loan clients was conducted to demonstrate FGD facilitation and validation of data gathered from the market research. Also discussed during the workshop were: Product Promotions, Financial Projections, MIS Enhancement and Reports and Cash Flow Analysis. The participants also showcased their creativity and artistic skills during the session requiring them to develop their respective bank’s HMF promotional materials.

What bankers who …

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RBAP-MABS Prepares Rural Banks for the New Effective Interest Rate Calculation Rules

The first of a series of seminar workshops to prepare banks for the new rules on effective interest rate calculations was held at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Complex at Pasay City last March 8, 2012 to discuss the new regulations and what banks must prepare for. Attended by participants from fifteen (15) rural banks, the workshop was conducted by the United States Agency for International Development-supported Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) Program, together with the Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (RBRDFI). Representatives from the BSP were on hand to answer questions from the participants.

At the seminar participants learned about how effective interest rates (EIR) are calculated based on BSP Circular 730 and BSP Memorandum M-2011-040. The circular, entitled “Updated Rules in Implementing the Truth in Lending Act to Enhance Loan Transaction Transparency”, aims to disclose the effective …

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Rural Banks Increasingly Accessing the BAP-Credit Bureau

Over the last five years, the number of rural banks utilizing the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) Credit Bureau’s Negative File Information System (NFIS) has grown almost five-fold with seventy-seven (77) rural banks now enrolled and fifty-one (51) rural banks actively using the system. There has also been an almost nine-fold increase in the number of credit inquiries by rural banks.

There are several reasons for the dramatic increase in the number of rural banks enrolled in the BAP-CB and the increase in the number of inquiries.  One factor is the reduced fee to both enroll and access the system. Rural banks may now enroll in the BAP-CB for free and only need to pay a PhP 5 fee per credit inquiry.  BAP-CB also provides free training for all subscribers. The only requirement is that all subscribers share and update their negative files with the NFIS.

Another factor is …

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