LBP allots P10B/yr for lending to SMEs

The Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) plans to allocate at least P10 billion annually in the next six years for lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The Landbank, the largest contributor to the SME Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth (Sulong) program of the Arroyo administration, has released a total of P12.7 billion as of last year, or about 47 percent of total releases under the program.

"SMEs are major contributors to job creation, bringing much-needed economic activity to the countryside," Landbank President and Chief Executive Officer Gary B. Teves said.

SMEs account for 99.6 percent of total registered establishments in the country and employ nearly 70 percent of the labor force.

"The funds we released under the SULONG program in 2003 benefited 14,522 small, medium, and micro entrepreneurs, and generated approximately 713,000 jobs nationwide," Teves added.

Landbank’s total loans to its priority sectors reached P74.4 billion as of end April this year or nearly 60 percent of its total loan portfolio of P124.2 billion.

The Landbank’s priority sectors include small farmers and fisherfolk, SMEs and micro-enterprises, agribusiness, agri-infrastructure, agri-related projects and environment-related projects.

Other GFIs directly involved in SME financing are the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corp. (SB Corp.), the Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency (PhilEXIM), and Quedancor.