USAID’s Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program announces the release of the latest MicroSave Briefing Notes series on mobile phone banking, which were written in partnership with MABS Chief of Party John V. Owens. The MicroSave Briefing Notes series is a compilation of short, focused, easy-to-read summaries of key issues and ideas on microfinance and microfinance institutions.

MicroSave is a project promoting the development of savings and other client-responsive financial services among microfinance institutions. It is at the forefront of efforts to move microfinance from a product-driven to a market-led approach. The project is being implemented through field-level research, action research, curriculum development, and information dissemination.

January 05, 2009 – The first small claims case hearing involving a rural bank in the Philippines was successfully conducted in twenty minutes and the case decided on in one-and-a-half hours in a Small Claims Court (SCC) in Davao. The case involved a microfinance client with an outstanding loan of Php 18,000 (from an original loan of Php 40,000) from a rural bank; the client agreed to settle the amount with the bank within the next eight months.

www.sunstar.com.ph
Friday, January 2, 2009

Rural banks in Cebu, optimistic amid the global financial crisis, are planning to create specific loan products and more services to provide rural folk more opportunities for business growth.

Danny Arcenas, president of the Cebu Federation of Rural Banks, said that the group is looking at rolling out separate specific products for house, mobile phone banking, micro-agriculture and micro-insurance, among others, sometime this year.

By Ted P. Torres
December 23, 2008
www.philstar.com

The country’s rural banking system has generated roughly 67 percent of net new employment generated in the entire Philippine banking industry at the start of the 21st century.

Rural banks were also responsible for opening 70 percent of the new branches opened from 2003 to 2007.

By Bong Garcia Jr.
Thursday, 18 December 2008
www.businessmirror.com.ph

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is assisting the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) intensify effort to make banking services accessible to microentrepreneurs. The assistance is aimed to help 550 rural banking units and branches nationwide through the Microenterprise Access Banking Services (MABS), a program that originally hails from Mindanao.

The MABS program aims to increase the number microborrowers through participating rural banks by more than 375,000 within five years starting this year until 2013.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008
www.sunstar.com.ph

AN INITIATIVE of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines intensifies effort to make banking services more accessible to micro-entrepreneurs as it targets to assist 550 rural banking units and branches nationwide.

The program called the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) program that originally hailed from Mindanao is supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

By Ted P. Torres
December 09, 2008
www.philstar.com

Globe Telecommunications Inc. (Globe) has recognized rural banks for their impressive performance in providing mobile phone banking services in the countryside.

Thursday, December 04, 2008
www.sunstar.com.ph

LEADING wireless service provider Smart Communications Inc. (Smart) formally launched its partnership with the Rural Bankers' Association of the Philippines (RBAP) to provide mobile commerce services to 696 RBAP-member banks all over the Philippines.

Ten local rural banks were recognized for their top performance in providing mobile phone banking services for the Filipinos in the 51st Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) Charter Anniversary Symposium held last November 18-19, 2008 in Manila.

United States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie A. Kenney spoke of US elections, rural banking, microfinance, and technological innovations at the 51st Charter Anniversary Symposium of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP). In line with the latest trends and developments in rural banking, the theme of this year’s RBAP event was “Banking on Technology”.

November 19, 2008 – The two top awardees for the 2008 Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year (MOTY) Awards are microenterprise borrowers of the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program participating rural banks. In addition, one regional winner and two special awardees likewise were clients of MABS participating banks.

By Ted P. Torres
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
www.philstar.com

The extension of the partnerships between rural banks and one of the world’s leading provider of mobile phone technology will bring rural banking and micro-credit to practically every doorstep in the Philippines.

Last month, the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP), Globe Telecommunication’s subsidiary, G-Xchange Inc., (GXI), and Nokia (Philippines) Inc. signed separate memorandum of agreements to further expand the existing mobile phone banking services (MPBS) of rural banks.

The fourth phase of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines Microenterprise Access to Banking Services Program (MABS-4) was formally launched during a Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony held on August 6, 2008 in Manila. The agreement was signed by USAID-Philippines Mission Director Jon Lindborg, Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) President Tomas Gomez IV, and the Rural Bankers Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (RBRDFI) Chairman Francis Ganzon.

USAID has decided to support and expand the Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program for the period May 2008 until March 2013.

Over the past 10 years, the MABS Program has provided technical assistance and training to rural banks to profitably provide financial services to the microenterprise sector. Since 1998, MABS participating banks have served more than 470,000 microenterprise borrowers providing them with more than 1.5 million loans totaling more than PhP 17 billion and helped to expand the number of small deposit accounts. Today, the MABS participating rural banks manage more than 1.3 million micro deposit accounts totaling more than PhP 1.7 billion. During this new phase of the MABS Program, the MABS team and their accredited MABS Service Providers will continue to provide technical assistance and training utilizing the MABS Approach to assist more banks expand access to microfinance services through more branches across the countryside. The MABS Approach to microfinance is a comprehensive system based on microfinance best practices.

From New Horizon Q1 2008

The Philippine Central Bank fosters an environment that helps bring mobile banking services to rural shopkeepers, street vendors and household-based entrepreneurs.

In the Philippines micro, small and medium-sized enterprises make up 99.6 percent of total businesses and employ 70 percent of the workforce. Around 4.1 million families belonging to the lowest-income strata are engaged in microenterprise activities.