$300 Million Loan to Boost Filipinos’ Access to Financial Services

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a $300 million loan to support the Philippine government’s effort to expand financial services across the country, especially among entrepreneurs, small businesses, farmers, workers, and individuals, including women and vulnerable households.

The policy-based Inclusive Finance Development Program aims to help the Philippines develop a resilient and inclusive financial sector. The project will help the government strengthen the country’s institutional and policy environment for expanding financial services, invest in support networks and infrastructure such as the national retail payment system and the new national identification system, and improve the abilities of financial institutions, including rural banks, to offer financial products, particularly through the application of new technologies. As a result, more people are expected to open bank accounts, save more at financial institutions, and have access to a wider range of other financial products and services.

Photo courtesy of I Travel Philippines.

Source: The Financial (link opens in a new window)

Tags
financial inclusion