DBP's bad loans down to 7.47%

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) announced yesterday that its past due rate continues to be among the lowest in the industry pegged at 7.47 percent as of April 2000, way below the industry average of 14 percent. In March 1999, DBP's past due rate was recorded at 8.28 percent.

DBP president and chief executive officer Remedios L. Macalincag said that the state-owned bank has consistently maintained a single digit past due rate since the last quarter of 1998 a reflection of its effective regular monitoring system and prudent account management measures.

With this trend, Macalincag expressed optimism that DBP will be able to maintain and even further lower its past due level by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the DBP also announced that the state-owned bank will support the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) by providing complementary technical assistance and credit facilities to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) amounting to some P21 billion for investments in cleaner production technologies.

The DBP recently signed a memorandum of agreement with DOST on the Integrated Program on Cleaner Production Technologies (IPCPT) which is in accordance with the bank's commitment towards environmental protection and sustainable development.

Macalincag also said that P8 billion of the funding will be provided by the Environmental Infrastructure Support Credit Program (EISCP) of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Industrial Pollution Control Loan Program (IPCLP) of KfW of Germany. "We are also opening the second phase of another credit facility, the Industrial Support Services Expansion Program (ISSEP) with funds of about P13 billion, also from JBIC," she added.

The credit programs aim to assist SMEs in increasing production capacity and improving efficiency in operations. Macalincag stressed that it is also DBP's objective to demonstrate to its clients and conduit financial institutions that investing in cleaner technologies is good economics as well, because it enables these enterprises to be more competitive in the global market. She further said that DBP has been promoting environmental management systems among industry sub-sectors since 1992.

Macalincag also emphasized that many industries need to modernize and improve their operations within the shortest possible time. Thus, the bank's environmental credit facilities for pollution prevention, waste minimization and energy conservation can provide important safety nets for local industries to enable them to be competitive in the global arena.