To help expand financial inclusion in the Philippines, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is investing PHP404 million (US$7 million) in Salmon Group Ltd (“Salmon”), an innovative AI-enabled financial company, that is a controlling shareholder of Rural Bank of Sta Rosa (Laguna), Inc.
IFC joins a PHP1.4 billion ($25 million) Series A extension round as a lead investor alongside Northstar Group, a Singapore-headquartered private equity fund, and other local and international investors.
The capital will be used to further enhance the capital position of Rural Bank of Sta Rosa (Laguna) and to enable Salmon, the parent company of the bank, to develop new credit products and a lifestyle banking offering, which Salmon plans to launch in the second half of 2024. In preparation for this launch, the bank offers some of the most attractive deposit interest rates in the Philippines, including its time deposit with up to 8.88% interest for a 12-month term.
IFC will also work with Salmon to further strengthen its role as a responsible lender.
“We are excited to welcome IFC and Northstar as our partners. IFC is one of the largest venture capital investors in emerging markets, and we share IFC’s commitment to leveraging disruptive AI technology to boost access to banking among the underserved. A large part of IFC funding will be directed towards extending the footprint and enhancing the capital position of the Rural Bank of Sta Rosa (Laguna),” said Raffy Montemayor, a co-founder of Salmon and chairman of the bank.
Salmon operates and owns a licensed bank in the Philippines. Founded in July 2022, Salmon uses AI-enabled technology and a proprietary credit engine to offer market-disruptive consumer loans, such as Salmon Credit, Salmon Installment, and Salmon Cash Loans.
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