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President's Message during the CSTRB 2005 Annual Credit Management Conference |
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16-18 March 2005
Taal Vista Hotel, Batangas |
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Congratulations to the Confederation of Southern Tagalog Rural Bankers!
This year’s theme, “Bangko at Bayan, Kabalikat sa Pagsulong ng Kabuhayan” responds well to the call for meaningful use of credit to promote community development, generate employment and reduce poverty. Year 2005 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year on Microcredit placing the vital role played by micro, small and medium enterprise development to attain the millennium goals. The Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines strongly encourages its member banks to commit heir business plans to national progress and productivity. RBAP adopted the Six-point Program of Governance directed to strengthen the management capability of rural banks, promote compliance with regulatory environment, empower federations/confederations to perform their own share in this advocacy and to unite the rural banks as an efficient national network for credit distribution and financial services. Your Board of Directors upholds the continuity of good leadership – being in three places at the same time. Meaning, in front of the members to lead the way, with the members to be one with them and behind the members to prod those who are lagging behind and are undecided. RBAP works with the government and strategic partners to roll-out technologies and systems for the benefit of the rural banking network. As a result, there are significant improvements in the system’s performance. As of September 2004, total loan portfolio increased by 12.32% to Php60.9 billion and total assets increased by 8.20% to Php96.8 billion. Capital resources also increased by 10.85% to Php15.49 billion. Asset quality based on non-performing assets to total assets ratio of the sector improved from 15.15% to 15.02%. Also, the microfinance loan portfolio of the network jumped to Php3.06 billion benefiting 508,701 borrowers. Our strategic partners in insurance developed new insurance plans to respond to the needs of the countryside market thus, further strengthening the lending capabilities and reach of the RB sector. Lately, the RBAP Text a Payment project started the pilot process, which provides the state-of-the-art technology of telecommunications to be utilized to increase loan collection efficiency. Loan payments can now be done via cellular phones. Soon, other gainful applications of wireless communications will be more accessible to rural banks in the area of bringing more improved deposit services, money transfers and bills collections. This development opens the realization that while being small, quantum lift progress can be attained by improving banking services. With microfinance technology producing successful entrepreneurs in the countryside, the next challenge facing the RB industry is how to meet the credit demands of the SMEs. Particularly, the microfinance entrepreneurs graduate to bigger operational and financial levels, as they become small entrepreneurs. Rural bank’s desire to extend credit response to the enlarged credit requirements of their clients will be the issue we have to cope with this year. I am sure that with the tenacity and creativity of the RB industry coupled with its decades of experience in rural credit and finance, the needs of the small entrepreneurs will be aptly met. Lastly, with all these achievements, the challenge left for us to contend is the question on sustainability. Rural banks being the prime movers of development must continue to service small farmers, fisherfolks, and the micro and small entrepreneurs with credit, savings mobilization and other financial and non-financial services. Rural banks must continue to be the key to livelihood, production and economic activity in the community. To be able to maintain this role, it is important that the principles of good governance be deepened in our management decisions and daily operations. Rural Banks need not be big in order to deliver services of excellence. Excellence is not related to the financial size of the bank but is largely dependent on best practices and corporate values applied diligently to the daily operations for community development. Fairness, accountability and transparency are the timeless beacon that will bring to us more depositors and improve our lending capability both as individual rural bank and as dynamic national network of RBs. I call upon all RBs to be counted in as the key to countryside development and make everybody realize that the RBs are the answers to rural development. “Sa rural banks, mga pamayanan ay uunlad, ang ating bansa ay uusad!” SENEN D. GLORIOSO RBAP President, 2004-2005 |
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Circular Letters/Memoranda |
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Speeches/ Presentations |
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Photo Gallery |
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RBAP Position Paper on HB Authorizing the Extension of Administrative Titling to Residential Lands |
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GTZ Credit & SME Finance Training |
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Member RBs in Good Standing with RBAP |
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Client Satisfaction Survey for Licensing Management System of the Supervision and Examination Sector |
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Financial Reporting Package 2008 |
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BSP releases regulations on liquidity, market risk weighting |
