Standard Chartered Bank Philippines and microfinance institution (MFI) ASA Philippines Foundation Inc. signed a credit facility agreement amounting to 80 million pesos (US$1.83 million) that will be used to support the development of micro-enterprises in the country.
The agreement was signed by Kamrul Tarafder, founder and president of ASA Philippines and Mahendra Gursahani, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank Philippines. The ceremony was witnessed by Prashant Thakker, Standard Chartered Bank’s global business head for microfinance.
ASA began operations in 2004 with the goal of delivering the most cost-effective, efficient, and client-responsive microfinance services to the entrepreneurial poor at the cheapest rate. Through its microfinance programme, ASA hopes to alleviate poverty by providing the poor and marginalized sectors of society with sustainable microfinance services (lending, savings, and insurance products), while maintaining a high portfolio quality.
In addition to providing financial services, ASA also extends business skills training and marketing support to qualified clients. It grants academic scholarships and disaster assistance for clients and their children. ASA plans to continue its rapid expansion, and by the end of 2013, it aims to have over 800 thousand borrowers with a gross loan portfolio of 3.20 billion pesos. Majority of the growth will be in chronically underserved and unbanked areas on the island of Mindanao and specific islands in the Visayas region.
Standard Chartered Bank Philippines began to ramp up its support to the Philippine microfinance industry in 2010, when it provided its first microfinance loan in the Philippines to CARD Bank, one of the largest MFIs in the Philippines, with over 350 thousand active borrowers and an asset size of US$98 million. This loan was subsequently followed by a similar loan facility in 2011 to Tulay sa Pag-Unlad Inc. (TSPI), another leading MFI with over 280 thousand active borrowers and an asset size of US$70 million.
