Pakistan studies Philippine microfinance

MANILA, Philippines - A delegation of 12 members from Pakistan’s National Rural Support Program (NRSP) conducted a study observation visit to the Philippines last month, facilitated by the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP).

The study tour was conducted to allow the Pakistani delegates to observe the country’s rural banking industry and its operations, including the implementation of the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The five-day study tour included field visits to CARD Bank and rural banks First Macro Bank and Bangko Kabayan, both of which are MABS participating banks.

The Pakistani delegation observed the banks’ operations, visited their clients and studied the banks’ lending procedures and mobile phone banking operations.

The same made courtesy calls on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Microfinance Council of the Philippines Inc. (MCPI), CARD MRI (Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually Reinforcing Institutions) and TSPI Development Corp.

From these institutions, the delegates learned about the regulatory framework for microfinance and the country‘s banking system in general, and rural outreach methodologies of various rural microfinance institutions.

NRSP is a Pakistan-based non-profit organization, which aims to alleviate poverty in the country by undertaking developmental activities and developing people’s skills. The largest such program in Pakistan, NRSP has outreach in all four provinces and is currently working with more than 500,000 poor households.