Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corp. (SB Corp.) lent P1.42 billion to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the first half of the year, up by 57.05% from P908.75 million year-on-year.
SB Corp. president Benel P. Lagua said lending growth was brought about by its active participation in the SME Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth (SULONG) programme, part of the administration's eight-point agenda programme for national development.
He added "We also attribute the increase in our lending portfolio to our aggressive marketing efforts, more liberalised accreditation process for our bank partners and competitive interest rates."
Through the SULONG programme, state financial institutions simplified their credit evaluation processes and relaxed their lending guidelines to make credit more accessible to small borrowers.
