BanKO nears P2-billion target for micro-lending

MANILA, Philippines - BPI Globe Savings Bank (BanKO) is nearing the target P2-billion mark in terms of micro-loans this year.

BanKO vice president Josias T. de la Cruz said their loan portfolio is now hovering in P1.3-billion level, boosted by wholesale lending to at least 45 microfinance institutions (MFIs).

“We should be surpassing P1.5 billion by the start of the second semester,” he said.

BanKO is a thrift bank that focuses on lending to micro-entrepreneurs, using mobile banking technology as its principal distribution platform aside from branches. It is a joint venture among sisters firms Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Globe Telecom, and parent Ayala Corp.

It recently raised P500 million in additional capital came from its principal stakeholders.

The country’s only microfinance-oriented, mobile banking reliant thrift bank is also in talks with several foreign funding agencies for additional funding.

However, it was not clear whether this would be in the form of loans or equity.

Meanwhile, Dela Cruz said they have scaled down their branch expansion to just 10 to principally serve as regional central operations and only secondarily as operating banking branches.

Dela Cruz said BanKO would instead open microfinance banking offices (MBOs) that are both smaller, cheaper, easier to operate, and are not limited by voluminous regulations.

The thrift bank is already operating five branches located in Naga, Lucena, Dumaguete, Tacloban, Dipolog, and its main office in Metro Manila.

Last November, BanKO raised over P30 million in the form of pledges from companies allied with the Ayala Group of Companies. The pledges would earn 4.5 percent in the form of so-called a systemic savings with a holding period of six months. Pledges that fall under the classification of special savings deposits would earn three-percent. Standard savings interest rates are slightly over one percent.

It was also able to receive a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which will be used for systems and technology research.

It will complement the mobile technology of Globe and its subsidiary, G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), which runs the GCash platform.