Edeza wants to expand quality accounts, guarantees and double profitabililty

Former national treasurer Sergio G. Edeza, and newly-installed president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency (PhilEXIM), pledged to pick up from where former head Joel C. Valdes left of prior to his resignation.

Valdes resigned for personal reasons.

Edeza swore to conform to the existing medium-term program including the 2004 plan, although he eyes semi-annual reviews. PhilEXIM is a line agency of the Department of Finance (DOF), and the only other government entity with a sovereign guarantee.

"Not just to ensure the agency’s profitability, but I would like to make sure of the quality of accounts," he said.

The new head stressed that PhilEXIM loans or guarantees are not subsidies, not concessions and not dole-outs.

However, PhilEXIM pledged to bring credit from the government and the private commercial banks through its guarantees. "We will try to beat the previous records on an annual basis."

It is the only government agency with an AAA credit rating or a "very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments."

Earlier, the former national treasurer urged commercial banks (KBs) to make full use of its sovereign guarantee as a better alternative to unprotected direct loans, which could result in accumulating non-performing loans (NPLs) or non-performing assets (NPAs).

"Banks should look at it in a different class, a different sovereign guarantee.

But they should lower their interest rates since they are protected by our guarantee," the chief executive said. "And should the KB need to call on our guarantee, we could pay them upfront."

Edeza said that he was open to undertake capital building activities to increase its assets "if we can leverage."

In end 2003, PhilEXIM’s net income reached P102 million. Income came from investments, fees from guarantees, loans, insurance premiums, and foreign exchange gains.

Direct lending, credit insurance policies, and outstanding guarantees reached a record P7.7 billion. Outstanding guarantees in US dollars reached $127 million and P528 million in local currency.

Total assets as of end 2003 stood at P1.4 billion. – Ted Torres