Chinatrust, SB Corp sign deal

Chinatrust (Phils.) Commercial Bank Corp., one of the country’s fastest growing banks signed recently a memorandum of understanding with Small Business Guarantee Fund Corp. (SB Corp.) to provide easy and quick access to credit by small and medium-scale enterprises.

Chinatrust has allocated P500 million in loans to small and medium-scale enterprises, in direct support of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s call to the private sector to immediately develop and implement loan programs that will provide the much-needed boost to the SME sector.

"This is clearly congruent to the bank’s strategic intentions in aggressively pursuing the small business and retail banking market. Specifically, our exporters need all the help they can get from the banking sector, and this facility paves the way to their fast access to credit, as they need it," Chinatrust president Joey Bermudez said.

Funded by Chinatrust (Phils.) Commercial Bank Corp. against credit guarantee to be provided by SB Corp., the SME loan facility will specifically cater to exporters and shall include credit lines and short-term loans that can be used to finance working capital requirements of small businesses. Loan amounts shall range from a minimum of P100,000 to a maximum of P3 million.

A joint initiative by the two financial institutions the loan facility shall be initially available in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu.

Chinatrust (Phils.) is a subsidiary of Chinatrust Commercial Bank of Taiwan, the biggest private commercial bank in the island nation, with 18 branches in Metro Manila, Cebu and Subic.