SB Corp lending nears P2-B

Total loans and guarantees extended by the Small Business Corp. (SB Corp.) between January to August this year reached P1.98 billion, or 5.2 percent better than the P1.3 billion registered in the same period in 2004.

Total lending for the whole of 2004 is P3.301 billion.

Of the total amount, wholesale lending tapped roughly P1.59 billion, retail lending for P279 million, and guaranteed amounts reached approximately P114 million.

Meanwhile, Citibank and six other financial institutions have been accredited as partner institutions to bring the total number to 21. The six are UMC Finance, Providence Rural Bank, Valiant Rural Bank, Tiaong Rural Bank, the Cooperative Bank of Camino, and Majolco Finance.

Other institutions dealing with SB Corp. are the Planters Development Bank, the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Bank of the Philippine Islands, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Banco de Oro Universal Bank, Bank of Commerce, the Rizal Commercial and Banking Corp., Anchor Savings Bank, Asiatrust Development Bank, Malayan Bank, Manila Bank, Export and Industry Bank, Equitable PCI Bank, One Network Bank, and Chinatrust Banking Corp.

Meanwhile, SB Corp. issued a P31.2 million cash dividend with the National Government getting the biggest chunk worth P13.83 million.

The other stakeholders were the LBP (P6.26 million), DBP (P3.48 million), the Philippine National Bank (P695,000).

It also accessed $15 million official development assistance (ODA) loan with a tenure of 40 years and interest rate of 0.75 percent. The loan came from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and part of the term is that it will be used for microfinance lending.

"We will also be accessing a $1-million technical assistance grant from the same agency for capacity building training of the conduits particularly rural banks," Benel P. Lagua, SB Corp. president and chief operating officer said. – Ted Torres<