SBGFC increases lending portfolio

The Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corp. (SBGFC) is looking to lend and guarantee up to P20 billion in the next five years.

Zorayda Amelia C. Alonzo, SBGFC chairman and chief executive officer said they already have 15 accredit banks that would participate in their lending and guarantee activities. She added that the firm would want to expand it further to as many as possible.

The firm, under the wings of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is mandated to extend competitive loans and guarantee loans to its principal target market of small and medium-sized enterprises.

For 2002, it has a portfolio worth P2-billion divided into P1.2 billion for loans and over P870 million for guarantees.

"We will concentrate on the manufacturing, agriculture, services and processing sectors," Alonzo said, adding that they expect to hit the P1.3-billion target for 2001 when all the reports are finalized.

To achieve the new goals, the SBGFC has launched several new or "renovated’ lending and guarantee products.

Among these are the loan products such as:

• SME-Fast or Fund Access for Short-term Loans for wholesale rediscounting facility

• SME-Firm or Funding for Investments in Regional Markets for wholesale long-term loans facility

• SME-Frend or Financing Reach for Exporters through Network Development for direct transaction facility for exporters

• SME-Feel or Financing Entry-point for Entrepreneurs in Livelihood for microfinancing

• SME-First or Financing for Receivables of Suppliers’ Transactions for suppliers rediscounting , or factoring, facility

The credit guarantee products are:

• SME-Gems or Guarantees for Enterprises in Manufacturing Services for programs for manufacturing and the services sector

• SME-Grains or Guarantees Resources for Agri-business Investments

• SME-Guild or Guarantees for Industries in Livelihood Development.

• SME-Glad or Guarantees for Lines of Anchor Industries – TPTorres