RBAP president calls for unity, cooperation

A leading figure in the rural banking sector urged the industry to continue to preserve gains achieved in the past years through cooperation and enthusiasm as the industry enters its 50 years of existence.

Speaking during the 49th annual convention of the Rural Banks Association of the Philippines (RBAP), association president Nicholas Lim said it was imperative that "we continue to benefit from its initial momentum by harnessing our energies toward preservation of the gains achieved."

"As we celebrate the golden year of rural banking in the Philippines, we should draw inspiration from this synergy in moving both out association and the rural banking system forward," Lim added.

The synergies were achieved through the implementation of the Strategic Development Plan fashion three years ago designed to bring the association and the industry to "a higher level of operational efficiency and professionalism."

The four priority objectives of the strategic program are membership support, portfolio integrity, technology enhancement and manpower training and development.

The program likewise opened the doors of the rural banking sector to private and government cooperation. These includes the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC), the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), an association of the commercial banking sector, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Among the gains achieved through the strategic program is the service-orientation of the staff and personnel of the RBAP.

It has also introduced information dissemination initiatives including the newly-configured RBAP Website and a mail-courier service.

"We aim to achieve our second goal through access to a credit bureau to ensure the quality of our borrowers for lesser risk and greater profitability with the help of the BAP," Lim said. With the help of the BAP, initial credit screening operations was successfully undertaken in Mindanao.

Through its self-designed or externally-assisted training programs, the RBAP has been able to improve the skill level of rural banking personnel.

The USAID has assisted in the professionalism of the RBAP personnel and the banking sector in general through various projects and programs.

Foremost among these is the Microenterprises Access to Banking Services (MABS) which helped prime the countryside to the propagation of microfinance. Starting with gains in Mindanao, the program was introduced to the Luzon and Visayas regions successfully. – Ted Torres