The BPI Family Savings Bank, the Philippines bank, is increasing lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by another P2bn this year.
Melecio A. Kimpo, BPI-Family Savings Bank vice-president and provincial lending head, said the bank has lent about P10bn to the SMEs as of last month and P600m in Southern Mindanao.
With a very low rate of past due accounts, Kimpo hopes the bank will hit the target this year.
He said the past due accounts of the Southern Mindanao region is about one per cent, way below the bank rate of five per cent and the industry banking rate of six per cent.
“Approval rating [of loans] in South Mindanao is very high,” he added.
The bank has embarked on an intensified marketing effort to address the loan gap, among them the holding of a series of seminar-handholding activities for SMEs, the first of which was held in Davao City yesterday.
