Billease secures P1 billion credit line from PNB

MANILA, Philippines — Consumer finance platform Billease has secured a P1-billion credit facility from Philippine National Bank (PNB), further expanding its local funding base as it scales its loan portfolio and moves deeper into traditional banking.

The facility, Billease’s first with PNB, is backed by a pool of consumer loan receivables registered under the Personal Property Security Registry (PPSR), giving the Lucio Tan-led bank a first-ranking security interest over the pledged assets.

The PPSR is a centralized registry established under Republic Act 11057 or the Personal Property Security Act, which allows lenders to register security interests over movable assets, including receivables.

Billease said the structure allows it to borrow against its consumer finance receivables while providing PNB protection through over-collateralization and regular replenishment of the loan pool.

Under the arrangement, Billease will pledge customer loans worth more than the amount it borrows. Loans that have already been repaid or become delinquent will be replaced with new receivables, while repayments tied to the facility will follow a predetermined priority in which PNB is paid first.

PNB institutional banking sector head Roberto Abastillas said Billease’s loan performance supported the bank’s decision to extend financing at a significant scale.

“Billease has demonstrated strong portfolio quality across different market cycles. This track record gave us confidence to establish this relationship at a meaningful scale,” Abastillas said.

“We see this as the beginning of a broader partnership and look forward to exploring additional opportunities to work together,” he said.

Billease’s revenues jumped by more than 80 percent to P8.7 billion in 2025, while net income reached P782 million. The company said this marked its third consecutive profitable year.

Its gross loan book expanded by more than 77 percent to around P12.5 billion, while total assets stood at P13.7 billion at end-2025. Billease said it currently onboards more than 200,000 new customers and disburses over P5 billion in loans every month.

Billease co-founder and CEO Georg Steiger said the company is deliberately broadening its domestic funding relationships as it seeks to lower financing costs and support further growth.

“We are deliberately expanding our local funding base here at home, with the country’s leading banks, because that allows us to keep serving more Filipinos with affordable, responsible credit,” Steiger said.

“PNB coming on board is a strong signal, it says the largest institutions in the market are ready to fund this kind of lending when it is done with discipline,” he added.

Steiger said Billease has built “a profitable business that scales without compromising on underwriting standards,” with local bank partnerships allowing it to fund growth on improving terms.