Foreign bankers visit rural banks

MANILA, Philippines - The Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines – Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) program recently hosted senior bank officers from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The Philippine rural bankers shared the history of the country’s rural banking, best practices and various mobile phone banking services. Senior bank officers from the Central Bank of India, State Bank of Pakistan, and Central Bank of Sri Lanka participated in the study visit, which was organized by the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) Center for Training and Research in Agricultural Banking (CENTRAB) in coordination with the Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation Inc. The delegates visited the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the People’s Credit & Finance Corp. (PCFC), and CARD-MRI to learn more microfinance practices in the country. The study visit program aims to promote socio economic growth and development through effective microfinance programs.