UCPB extends P5.6B loan to coco farmers

CEBU, Philippines - The United Coconut Planters Bank-Coconut Industry Investment Fund (UCPB-CIIF) Foundation Inc.has released a total of P5.6 billion loans to 300,000 coconut farmers across the Philippines.

UCBP-CIIF Foundation, Inc. president Edgardo C. Amistad announced that the loan facility dedicated to help the coco farmers has provided livelihood projects, farming, and enterprise venturing and trading activities among borrowers.

“While we continue to do our share to improve the lives of the millions of coconut farmers in the country, there’s still so much more to be done. We will continue to do our best to do more, until we can finally say that coconut farmers and their respective families are living the life they truly deserve,” Amistad said.

The Coco-foundation, together with the United Coconut Planters Bank, the bank mandated to extend a helping hand to small coconut farmers, reaffirms its commitment to improve the lives of coconut farmers and their families. 

Established in 1987, UCPB-CIIF Foundation, Inc. or Cocofoundation began helping coconut farmers with its flagship program, Adopt-a-School for Development Program, until it sponsored its first batch of 30 college scholars in 1988. Since then, it has supported more students in partnership with other companies.

Seeing the need to expand its educational support, Cocofoundation launched its scholarship program in 2004 to help improve the lives of coconut farmers’ children. A total of 1,589 scholars from 53 coconut-growing provinces have availed of financial assistance for them to pursue a college degree in over 40 state colleges or complete a VOCTECH course from Don Bosco Training Centers or TESDA-accredited schools.

To date, the Cocofoundation scholarship program has produced 819 graduates, 388 of them with college degrees and 431 with vocational-technical certificates.

For the first semester this year, the bank reported a 22 percent surge of its net income to P1.54 billion, from last year’s P1.34 billion, attributing the strong growth of its loan portfolio, as well as its trading and securities earnings by double-digit.

In the first six month of this year, total loans went up by 20 percent to P77 billion from P63.96 billion in the same period of last year. Corporate loans increased by 17 percent.

Consumer loans on the other hand, went up at a much faster pace at 35 percent.

The Bank propelled the growth of its consumer loan segment by continuously tapping major property developers for referrals and launching UCPB’s “Your Easy Salary” or YES loan program in Cebu, where demand is high.

UCPB’s YES Loan is a loan facility extended to both employed and self-employed individuals with a checking account and major credit card. Clients can borrow up to P1 million for various purposes such as for home improvements, medical and emergency expenses, car repair and maintenance, purchase of consumer goods, tuition fees and other personal expenses.

By the end of June 2012, total assets of UCPB in the first semester amounted tP211.80 billion up by 15 percent while total capital stood at P18.58 billion increasing by 19 percent. --(FREEMAN)