Banks urged to structure financing for migrant workers

MANILA, Philippines - The Asian Bankers Association (ABA) has urged commercial banks to structure their financing to suit the needs of migrant workers.

At 29th ABA general membership meeting and conference held here yesterday, ABA members issued two position papers, one of which deal with “Empowering Migrant Workers and Greater Finance Inclusion Through Remittances.”

The other paper was focused on examining some of the developments in the Asian bond market and work undertaken in promoting the establishment of a regional funds passport system.

The ABA members specifically aim to establish a multilateral framework facilitating the cross border selling of Asian investment funds among participating nations and increasing cooperation among regional regulators.

On the greater financial inclusion of migrant workers, the ABA member banks would work on structuring products and services to meet the needs on the basis of availability, accessibility, affordability and attractiveness.

The ABA also agreed to identify and nominate banks that can provide best practices and lessons learned from experience of natural disasters to promote cooperation among banks in disaster preparedness and recovery.

ABA, in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank, would also be forming a working committee to evaluate proposal to revive efforts in drawing up guidelines on how to deal with company restructuring scheme.

Established in October 1981, the ABA is now the biggest grouping of banks and financial institutions in AsiaPacific. Its membership currently includes some 100 of the top lending banks from 25 countries in the region.

The association aims to provide a forum for advancing the cause of the banking and finance industry in the region and promoting regional economic cooperation.

The ABA forum is being held on an annual basis, attended by over 150 bankers, bank regulators and members of the academe from 20 countries around the region.

During the two-day meeting, RCBC chairman Amb. Alfonso Yuchengco was appointed ABA chairman emeritus while RCBC president Lorenzo Tan was elected ABA chairman for 2012-2014.

The ABA also expanded the geographical scope of its membership with the admission of Bank of Maldives.