Gov’t embarks on campaign for greater ‘financial inclusion’

The government, led by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has embarked on a campaign to make loans and other financial services more accessible to the majority of Filipinos.

Economic officials said “financial inclusion” was vital to accelerating poverty reduction, given that a quarter of Filipinos live below the poverty line.

With more Filipinos having access to financial services, officials said the micro enterprise sector could expand and develop further to lift more people out of poverty.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. on Wednesday hosted a meeting with heads and other top officials of various government agencies to discuss the formulation of the framework for financial inclusion.

Attending the meeting were Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Teresita Herbosa, Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel Dooc, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Interim National Statistician Carmelita Ericta, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran, Neda Deputy Director General Emmanuel Esguerra, and Commission of Filipinos Overseas head Imelda Nicolas.

“The ultimate goal is to establish a framework for collaboration to reduce the level of poor and financially excluded segments of the population in support of the government’s inclusive growth agenda,” the BSP said in a statement.

The BSP said the agenda of financial inclusion had substantially moved forward over the last few years through the introduction of financial products and services that are tailor-fit for low-income Filipinos.

For instance, based on data from the BSP, the number of borrowers of micro loans jumped from 390,000 in 2002 to 1.11 million as of the first half of 2013.

Moreover, loans to micro enterprises are estimated to have breached the P6-billion mark last year with 170 banks, mostly rural banks, offering loans to micro enterprises.

According to a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), banking services are still highly concentrated in the National Capital Region, with two-thirds of the 9,375 banks in the country as of 2012 operating in NCR.