PhilGuarantee hikes MSME guarantee portfolio

The loans guaranteed by the Philippine Guarantee Corp. (PhilGuarantee) for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) went up by 360 percent to P952.5 million in February this year from P207 million as of December 2020.

In a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd, PhilGuarantee said the number of MSME beneficiaries also grew by 200 percent from 2,948 enterprises in December to 8,839 in February 2021.

“The implementation of improved processing and evaluation parameters starting this year led to this remarkable increase in the number of beneficiaries under the MSME Credit Guarantee Program (MCGP),” PhilGuarantee President and Chief Executive Officer Alberto Pascual said.

He said that this year, the number of MSME beneficiaries rose from 4,649 in January to 8,839 in February.

The total of P952.5 million in MSME loans guaranteed as of February 28, 2021 were from 10 accredited banks and financial institutions.

From the start of the MGCP’s implementation last year, the PhilGuarantee governing board chaired by Dominguez thus far approved a total of P37.7 billion in credit guarantee facilities to 34 banks.

At least 22 banks are now actively submitting MSME loan applications for credit guarantee.

“The approval of the credit guarantee facilities enabled the availability and accessibility of credit from banks that would have otherwise been reluctant to lend to MSMEs owing to the uncertainties that prevailed with the onset of the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic,” Pascual said.