SBCorp plans P12-B lending to support exporters, MSMEs

THE SMALL BUSINESS Corp. (SBCorp), the financing arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is targeting P12 billion in loan releases this year.

“P12 billion is our target loan releases for the year,” SBCorp President and Chief Executive Officer Robert C. Bastillo told reporters on the sidelines of an event late Wednesday.

If realized, the amount would exceed last year’s P11.2-billion target, he said.

Of the P12-billion target, about P3 billion will be allocated for exporters, P2 billion for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and P2 billion for women-owned and women-led enterprises.

SBCorp may extend additional loans if demand remains strong and repayment rates stay high, Mr. Bastillo said.

“If we exceed that, we have to ask the permission of the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to release [additional funding,]” he noted.

Mr. Bastillo said larger borrowers such as exporters, wholesale partners, cooperatives, and financial institutions have a repayment rate of nearly 100%.

Microenterprises, however, typically show lower repayment rates.

Mr. Bastillo said many online loan applicants are engaged in manufacturing, services, industrial activities, and trading.

Most SBCorp borrowers are microenterprises, which employ no more than nine workers and have assets of up to P3 million.

Mr. Bastillo also noted rising demand from women-led enterprises, which account for about 60% of the agency’s borrowers.

“Naturally, our micro segment is dominated by women entrepreneurs,” he said.

Mr. Bastillo said the launch of SBCorp’s mobile application last year and its engagement with women’s groups helped increase the number of female borrowers.

SBCorp is also looking to extend more loans to OFWs affected by the escalating war in the Middle East.

Separately, Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque said loan support for exporters remains important as the Philippines pursues free trade agreements with other countries.

The move also comes as tensions in the Middle East raise concerns about potential impacts on Philippine exporters.

“We don’t have the numbers yet, but of course if this continues, definitely, it will affect [exporters],” she told reporters separately.

Ms. Roque noted, however, that the Middle East accounts for about 1% of the country’s total exports. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz