BSP starts microfinance roadshow in Cebu City

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will launch the microfinance regional advocacy program in Cebu City on Jan. 31.

This will be the first of a series of information seminars that will be held in the strategic regions of the country to promote the development of sustainable microfinance. The end goal of this endeavor is to catalyze the development of sustainable microfinance institutions in the country to be able to reach a larger number of entrepreneurial poor.

The BSP and other officials who will serve as resource persons at the seminar are: Monetary Board member Antonino L. Alindogan Jr., managing director Ricardo P. Lirio, microfinance consultant Eduardo C. Jimenez, director Joselito Almario from the National Credit Council, Dr. Piedad Geron of the Credit Policy and Improvement Program, and CARD Rural Bank vice president for operations Aristeo Dequito, among others.

It has declared microfinance as its flagship program for poverty alleviation in 2000 and has since then taken significant strides in creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment for practitioners, training and capacity building within the BSP and the banking sector as well as promoting and advocating microfinance.

To date, there are two microfinance oriented rural banks (Vision and Banco ng Masa) and two microfinance oriented thrift banks (Opportunity Microfinance Bank and Microenterprise Bank), created under Circular 273, with 100-percent microfinance portfolios.