(left) New RBAP president-elect Joseph Omar Andaya shared his vision for fiscal year 2009-2010 in the 56th RBAP Annual Convention held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Manila on May 14-15, 2009. (right) Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. (left) and RBAP President Tomas Gomez IV (right) also unveiled the comic strip cover’s poster for RBAP’s new informational campaign in the same convention.

The Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP), held its 56^th Annual Convention at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Manila on May 14-15, 2009. Participated in by rural bankers from all over the country, this RBAP Annual Convention highlighted the importance of improving governance in the rural banking industry.

New campaign

In this convention, RBAP also launched its new informational campaign on the rural banks’ role not just as depository banks in the countryside, but also as significant loan providers for micro-entrepreneurship and community development. This campaign includes posters and a comic book on the advantages of using GCASH for the mobile phone banking services (MPBS) designed by RBAP-MABS with the support from Globe Telecom’s GXI.

New set of officers, new vision

Also included in this convention is the election of RBAP’s next set of officers which is due to take office in July 2009. Heading the association’s next board is Green Bank’s president and chairman, Mr. Joseph Omar Andaya, who also shared his vision for the fiscal year 2009-2010.

In his speech at the convention, Mr. Andaya provided an overview of the next board’s plans and platforms, saying that the incoming Board is off to further strengthen the rural banking industry. He also expressed the board’s dedication to push for the effective use of technology in this pursuit. Further, Mr. Andaya also stressed his desire to continue the RBAP’s support for the MABS Program, pushing for its continued success and for the success of the new products and technologies that it promotes, including MPBS, micro-insurance, and working on ratings and greater transparency for the rural banking industry.

 

USAID/Philippines Office of Economic Development & Governance Chief Christian Hougen delivered the opening remarks in the 2009 RBAP-MABS National Roundtable Conference held at the Hyatt Hotel and Casino in Manila on May 12 and 13, 2009.

One hundred and five rural bankers from 46 MABS participating banks gathered at the Hyatt Hotel and Casino in Manila on May 12 and 13, 2009 for the 2009 RBAP-MABS National Roundtable Conference.

Joining the bankers in this conference were representatives from MABS’ partner organizations and private sectors, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Globe Telecom, G-Xchange Inc. (GXI), Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP), United States Embassy, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Fostering the theme, “Opportunities in Microfinance amidst the Global Financial Crisis”, these bankers conferred on the status of the MABS program and its plans for the 2009 and 2010, opportunities amidst the crisis, monitoring the banks’ overall and microfinance performance, managing human resources, organizational best practices, staying on top of loan administration and collection, new microfinance products and services that banks can take advantage of, and new technologies that banks can use to improve their outreach and efficiency, all through the insightful presentations from its resource speakers and panelists from MABS’ partner organizations, private sectors, and rural banks.

Among the guest speakers and presenters were USAID/Philippines Office of Economic Development & Governance Chief Christian Hougen, who delivered the opening remarks; MIX Market Regional Manager for Asia Elizabeth Larson; MicroEnsure International President/CEO Richard Leftley; IPA Philippine Country Director Tomoko Harigaya; MyClick Technologies Inc. President Mel Yuson; Altus Communications President John Quimbo; Regional Trial Court Judge Maria Filomena Singh; GXI President Paolo Baltao and BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr., who delivered the keynote address.

In his keynote address, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco stressed that despite the global economic crisis that has affected several countries and businesses around the world, the Philippines remains resilient compared with its neighbors. According to him, even though risks remain, the Philippines shall survive with its sound and stable banking system. He added that banks should become more proactive than reactive and look at this crisis as an opportune time to push for reforms.

On the night of the conference’s first day was the awarding of the EAGLE Achievement Award to outstanding MABS participating banks. This year’s awardees were GM Bank, Rural Bank of Sto. Tomas and Rural Bank of Oroquieta.

The annual RBAP-MABS National Roundtable Conference is an event that gathers RBAP-MABS participating banks from all regions to share and exchange experiences on microfinance best practices and innovations, and to provide a face-to-face discussion with each bank on its microfinance performance through the EAGLE report card. This year’s national roundtable conference is the sixth since the tradition started in 2003.

USAID/Philippines Mission Director Jon Lindborg congratulated RBAP-MABS for its continued success and the EAGLE awardees for their excellence in rural banking and microfinance.

In continued celebration of progressive banking and microfinance, the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) honored this year’s three rural bank champions of rural banking and microfinance operations in an awards night held at the Hyatt Hotel and Casino in Manila on May 12, 2009. GM Bank, Rural Bank of Santo Tomas and Rural Bank of Oroquieta were all given due honor and recognition for their exemplary performance in the industry in the year 2008. The award was based on the Efficiency, Asset Quality, Growth, Liability Structure, and Earnings (EAGLE) assessment system drafted by MABS.

The annual EAGLE Awards is MABS’ way of recognizing its excelling partner rural banks based on MABS’ annual assessment of its partner banks’ performance. With its first batch of EAGLE awardees in 2003, MABS makes use of a number of indicators for the five abovementioned criteria making up the word “EAGLE” in determining how these banks are implementing their microfinance services. The results of the annual assessment are presented to the rural banks in a score card format along with written analyses and recommendations for improvement. Those that met MABS’ standards for excellence are awarded the EAGLE Achievement Award.

This year’s awardees were recognized not only for their outstanding performance but also for other special points that made their banks stand above the rest. GM Bank, for instance, was commended for its top management executives who are champions of microfinance, strong middle management, and dedicated field staff; its focus on customer service, having product reviews and modifying products based on market research; commendable use of technology to improve its operations; and its bold expansion through new products and new markets. The Rural Bank of Santo Tomas, on the other hand, was commended for its noteworthy balance between growth and asset quality, remarkable microfinance loan portfolio growth of more than 67%, growth in the number of active borrowers by more than 56%, and a maintained portfolio-at-risk rate of less than 3%. Lastly, RB Oroquieta was commended for effectively balancing growth and asset quality, and for having more than a hundred percent rate increase in both the number of microborrowers and gross microloan portfolio in 2008 while keeping its average portfolio at risk ratio more than 30 days below 5%.

 

This year’s EAGLE Achievement Awardees: (from the top) GM Bank, Rural Bank of Sto. Tomas and Rural Bank of Oroquieta.

Joining in with the celebration and the recognition of these banks are Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) President Tomas S. Gomez IV; United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines Mission Director Jon Lindborg; Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Manager for Asia Elizabeth Larson; Globe Telecom President Ernest Cu; Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo) Chairman, Undersecretary Virgilio L. Leyretana, Sr.; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr.; and USAID Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative Teresita Espenilla.

The EAGLE Achievement Awards night is part of the 2009 MABS National Roundtable Conference also held at the Hyatt Hotel and Casino in Manila on May 12-13, 2009.

MABS Chief of Party John Owens presented the success of mobile phone banking and other MABS initiatives to Asian Development Bank (ADB) representatives on April 15, 2009, in lieu with the ADB’s goal of attaining societal transformation through banking.

Following the ADB’s invitation to discuss how MABS was able to achieve remarkable success in reaching out to more microfinance clients through its mobile phone banking initiative, Mr. Owens provided a comprehensive presentation on how MABS developed a successful mobile phone banking system in the Philippines. ADB was interested in how mobile phone banking works in the country to be able to explore possibilities of replicating it in other countries.

Among the attendees were Peter Knoll, formerly working with the US Federal Reserve but now works with the ADB for Tameer Bank in Pakistan, and Betty Wilkinson, ADB’s Senior Microfinance Specialist working on several microfinance initiatives in China.

Mobile phone banking is made possible by the joint effort of MABS and G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI) through the GCASH platform. To date, this mobile phone banking system has already benefited 46 rural banks in the country and over 70,000 clients.

MABS conducted the Senior Management Orientation to orient officers of five rural banks on the MABS Approach to Microfinance on April 2, 2009. This is in line with expanding outreach to more rural banks and microenterprise clients.

The Senior Management Orientation – the first of the five modules under the MABS Approach Training and Technical Services package – provides an overview and appreciation of the MABS Approach to developing microfinance products and services. The MABS Approach is a systematic step-by-step training and technical assistance package followed by rural banks as they develop the full capability to profitably provide loan, deposit, money transfer and other financial services to meet the needs of microentrepreneurs and low-income households.

Fourteen senior officers from five rural banks planning to establish microfinance operations attended the orientation. These banks were First Mindoro Microfinance Bank, First Reliance Bank, Negros Cooperative Bank, Rural Bank of Dipolog, and Rural Bank of Kawit. Representatives from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Project Management Specialist Teresita Espenilla and Ms. Katherine Rodriguez – also attended the session.

MABS Deputy Chief of Party Meliza Agabin gave an introduction, discussing the participants’ expectations on the orientation and bank interests. The other sessions of the whole-day activity focused on: microfinance definition and best practices, management information systems, microinsurance, and profitability of microfinance operations. The participants were also asked to complete an institutional assessment survey that would gauge their bank’s readiness to offer new microfinance products and services.