THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday, Feb. 19, said it is giving a total of $655,000 (around P36.7 million) in grants to nine rural banks and a bank consortium in the Philippines to help them digitalize and boost financial inclusion.
In a statement, the multilateral lender said the recipients are Banco San Vicente, Camalig Bank, MVSM Bank, Rural Bank of Guinobatan, Rural Bank of Medina, Rural Bank of Montalban, Rural Bank of Porac, Rural Bank of Silay, and Rural Bank of Tandag.
Another recipient, The Good Bank Consortium, is composed of three rural banks.
The awardees were chosen from among rural banks nationwide serving women, farmers, fisherfolk, and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
ADB said the banks want to put up cloud-based core banking systems, loan origination systems, and credit scoring systems. They hope to boost operational efficiency, reduce expenses and friction costs, expand their reach and improve customer service,
The grants are part of ADB’s Fintech for Inclusion Transformation (FIT) program funded by the High-Level Technology Fund and the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund.
The FIT program is part of the ADB-financed Inclusive Finance Development Program, which supported government reforms to expand Filipinos’ access to financial services, especially for the unbanked. (ABS-CBN News)
