Lowly RB joins Goliaths of RP banking

Out of the 105 entries coming from 49 countries competing for eight categories sponsored by The Asian Banker, a punitive rural bank from Davao del Norte get the approval of the experts. The Asian Banker is a prestigious banking and finance regional periodical.

The Rural Bank of Sto. Tomas (Davao) Inc. (RB Sto. Tomas) emerged as a runner-up in the microfinance product or program category, the top honors of which was bagged by the Taiwan Business Bank.

The Sariling Unlad, Kita at Impok (Suki) microfinance program of the RB Sto. Tomas was described by the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) as "a David amidst the sea of Goliaths" proving its worth among its banking peers in Asia. The RBAP represents the rural banking system in the country.

RB Sto. Tomas, established in 1973, is a single unit bank operating in the municipality of Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte, and located right in the middle of the so-called banana export belt of the Philippines.

Having been chosen as one of the four pilot banks of the USAID-supported Microentreprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) program in 1998, RB Sto. Tomas embarked on its Suki microfinance program in 1999 and to date has benefited over 8,716 borrowers with a cumulative loan release of P102.2 million. Over 85 percent of its borrowers are women and delinquency postures, and its PAR is presently at 4.2 percent end May 2004.

After five years operating the microfinance program, the lives of its micro-entrepreneur clients was noted. A testimony to Suki’s impact is the recent recognition of Elma Garan (a Suki client) as the Citigroup Microentrepreneur of the Year for the island of Mindanao. Citibank awarded Garan with a cash prize of P50,000 while her account officer, Serg Sebollin received P10,000.

RB Sto. Tomas is steered by its chairman Federico G. Pineda III (a former investment banker from New York) and president Rosele R. Solis (a former commercial banker from Far East Bank and Trust Co.).

Not one to seat on its laurels, the RB Sto. Tomas officials launched its Saganang Ani, Kita at Asenso (Saka) microfinance hybrid rice production program for the agricultural sector in 2001. Now entering its third year of operation, Saka presently finances close to 1,000 hectares of rice land involving over 400 farmers. It has also resulted in a number of young people going back to farming after having seen the profits that can be derived from rice production.

It has also launched another microfinance program designed to provide micro-insurance to its microfinance loan clients with the help of the Malayan Insurance group.

RB Sto. Tomas may be a small bank in comparison to other banking institutions in the Philippines, but it has made its mark as an innovator in microfinance. RB Sto. Tomas is a David in terms of its size, but a Goliath when it comes to microfinance.

The Asia Pacific Bankers Congress was held in Manila last March. The awards had eight categories, namely: SME Financing, Development Product Financing Program, Fund Sourcing Product or Program, Risk Management Product or Program, Micro-Finance Product or Program, Marketing, PR or Branch Management Project, Customer Service Program, and Operational Efficiency Program.

Other big names in the Philippine banking industry that emerged as either winners or runners-up of specific categories are the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank), the Asiatrust Development Bank, the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Banco de Oro Universal Bank, HSBC Philippines, and the Philippine Veterans Bank.