Credit Surety Fund for city coops launch set

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, January 6 (PIA) -- The financing program spearheaded by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas called Credit Surety Fund (CSF), will be launched on January 17 providing city cooperatives and its members access to formal sources of credit.

BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. with City Mayor Edward Hagedorn will lead the launching ceremony with the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement among and between the BSP, the city government, Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), and the cooperatives who have contributed to the fund.

The CSF is the BSP's pro-active approach in supporting micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs or MSMEs who often find themselves hard pressed for loans from financial institutions due to lack of collateral, unstable income, lack of business experience, and low paying capacity.

Under the program, a fund will be created from contributions of highly-capitalized and well-managed cooperatives with a counterpart contribution from the city government and donor institutions like the Industrial Guarantee and Loan Fund, LBP and the DBP. The fund will provide surety cover, in place of collateral, to guarantee bank loans of MSMEs.

Puerto Princesa City is the 23rd local government unit in the country to have committed to the CSF and pledges Ph5 million to the fund. Cooperatives and its members can access this fund to finance investment expansion or start-up capital. (LBR/VSM/PIA4B-Palawan)

by Vicky S. Mendoza