True to its mandate

The United Coconut Planters Bank, through its foundation UCPB-CIIF, recently concluded a regional consultative workshop with coconut farmer organizations to address a looming scenario where the bank, being the administrator of the coconut levy funds, will have to continue helping the coconut growers from whom it derives its mandate and existence for the past 50 years.

The UCPB has been saying that the coco levy funds remain intact and for as long as the ownership question remains with the Supreme Court which is deciding with finality on this issue, the bank will continue to deliver on its programs and targets including profitability of its banking function and related businesses.

Unknown to many who have been following the coconut farmers’ agenda on recovering their claims to the coco levy funds, the UCPB banking unit has performed impressively since 2009 and continues its path to profitability.

In 2011, UCPB registered a net income of P3.05 billion attributed, among others, to expansion of consumer loans by 34 percent to P15.5 billion and with the corporate segment share at 73 percent to total loan portfolio of P57.5 billion. The low-cost checking and savings accounts (CASA) improved also by 9.9 percent to P109.76 billion. 

The banking sector will agree that with UCPB attaining Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 11.92 percent for 2011 from 10.60 percent a year-ago, it is a feat accomplished signifying that the bank complied with and well above the 10 percent CAR regulatory requirement of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

UCPB sees better income for 2012 projected to reach P4 billion on targets based on technology-driven products and expansion in loan portfolio, remittance business, fee-based income and branch network. The bank president and CEO Jeronimo Kilayco has expressed optimism of achieving this profit target with the bank associates’ commitment to building a bigger and stronger financial institution and to clients’ loyalty to the UCPB brand.

Noteworthy, UCPB made a turnaround starting in 2009 with P1.66 billion in net income from a net loss of P2.714 billion in 2008. This growth path has been sustained with a P2.386 billion net income in 2010.

With its 50 years in existence and now performing with sustained income performance, UCPB is well-attuned to respond to the needs of coconut farmers. The records of its accomplishment in various corporate social responsibility (CSR) and foundation networking will show that the bank has reached milestones.

The UCPB Coco foundation has sent 48 scholars who graduated four-year courses from colleges in school year 2011-2012. To date, 387 scholars graduated from universities and 417 completed vocational/technical courses. Financial grants awarded have reached total of 1,433 children in 52 provinces, with 911 scholars in more than 40 state colleges and 522 students of vocational courses in Don Bosco Training Centers. About 53 percent of the scholars are from the coconut producing region of Mindanao, 27 percent from Luzon and 20 percent from the Visayas. 

The UCPB foundation established since 1987, has been engaging in community development projects in areas where it has conduct of business and in localities with coconut growing industry.

In partnership with cooperatives and rural financing institutions (RFIs), UCPB-CIIF Foundation has extended a total P5.6 billion in loan disbursements since 1995. It has a loan portfolio amounting to P770.2 million at the end of 2011.

Based on the UCPB accomplishment updates, the UCPB-CIIF Window 1 lending program released P2.576 billion coursed through the RFIs. Window 2 Micro Enterprise Credit program released a total of P1.7 billion representing loans.

The same report said that as of December 2011, some 31,474 farmers benefited from the Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Program (Window 3) of the UCPB-CIIF foundation. This has been the economic empowerment and job generation strategy of the foundation that it continues to extend loans to this sector.

Newly-organized farmers group received credit access and funding for capacity building through the MATUTUPAD Program which UCPB lending extended some P223 million as of end-December 2011. Some 37,643 coconut farmers received assistance and loan funding from this program.

The Buko Program has released P729 million as of end-2011 and this funding went to the intended recipients representing women and household members seeking livelihood as well productivity in farming.

The UCPB-CIIF has engaged in micro-financing under the Buklod Unlad Microfinance Program with total releases of P449 million.

In the field of developing the industry of coconut by-products, which saw the successful marketing of coconut coir, nata de coco and coconut sugar among others, this sector has received funding assistance from the UCPB-CIIF through its Niyog, Abono, Pag-Iwi Atbpa. program. Data available revealed that some P235 million has been released providing 41,133 jobs.

With the coconut industry currently challenged to chart its next course in the development of the country as a coconut growing region and with the coconut farmers to continue receiving the benefits from the coco levy funds, UCPB and its network of foundations has taken the initiative to consult the farmers.   The UCPB-CIIF concluded this April the two-day consultative workshop with coconut farmers and coco farmer organizations in Naga City with the objective of consulting this region’s coconut farming industry on the formulation of the coconut farmers’ development program.

The consultation workshop in Naga City is one of the series of meetings under the Coconut Farmers National Consultative Workshop being spearheaded by the UCPB-CIIF with rationale on providing mechanisms for the needs of farmers to consolidate their ranks towards claiming their ownership of the coconut levy funds which the UCPB said has been firmed up with the recent Supreme Court decision on the coco levy funds.

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