The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), in its Memorandum No. M-2014-011, has issued a set of guidelines for external audit firms that handle assessments of financial institutions. The memorandum, which outlines the guiding principles for an effective external audit function, will be used by the BSP in assessing the effectiveness of the oversight of the …
Rural banks already play a big role in small communities. They serve over one million low-income families who trust them for microinsurance, loans, savings and other crucial banking services that help them build a financial foundation to support themselves and their families. As such, it is important that these services are made readily available and …
Building financial capabilities through m-banking Read More »
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) warned the public of “Bitcoins,” or virtual currencies currently being exchanged in the country, saying monetary authorities were still studying the “appropriate regulatory measure” on the new technological innovation. The central bank said Bitcoins were a form of unregulated digital money that allows purchase of both virtual goods, such …
March 11, 2014 Dear Rural Bankers, The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) has invited us to take part in their benefit run, “Takbo Sa Pagbangon ng Leyte,” on May 4, 2014 at the PNB Financial Center along Pres. Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, Pasay City. The initiative, done in partnership with Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, …
INVITATION: PDIC’s “Takbo Sa Pagbangon ng Leyte” on May 4, 2014 Read More »
Dear rural bankers, The Monetary Board, in its Resolution No. 232 dated February 7, 2014, approved the amendments to Appendix 63c and other related provisions of the Manual of Regulations for Banks (MORB) on the revised risk-based capital adequacy framework for stand-alone thrift banks, rural banks, and cooperative banks Attached is a copy of the …
CCLRB: A Brave New World In its effort to promote awareness among rural bankers on the country’s changing financial landscape, the Confederation of Central Luzon Rural Banks (CCLRB) held the 2014 Annual Management Conference last February 27-28 at Forest Lodge in Camp John Hay, Baguio City. The annual event focused on the theme, “A Brave …
Confederation of Southern Tagalog Rural Bankers Plenary Address – “Back to Basics” 2014 Annual Management Conference Forbes Ballroom, Baguio Country Club March 3, 2014 When I was invited to speak at this Conference by your colleague – and my cousin, Ricky Estrada – I was of course, honored and intrigued. I currently serve as independent …
Speech of Mr. Francis Estrada, Chairman of Equity Managers Asia, Inc.* Read More »
The government’s goal to achieve financial inclusion rests on the capability of the rural banking sector to spur countryside development. Such holistic growth depends on rural banks’ continued dedication to invest in agriculture and agrarian reform projects. Thus, the recent accreditation given by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to another set of rural banks, …
Banking is a business of trust. It involves money, which is important to practically everybody, and anything important ought to be protected and entrusted only to those worthy. Among the poor, the trust in rural banks has always been there and continuously builds up steadily as these community-based financial institutions have shown the capability to …
Our society tends to focus too much on size. “The bigger, the better,” they said. “Size matters!” others quipped. Often overlooked in our obsession with anything large is the quiet resiliency and efficiency of the little guys. While the big ones get the glory and prestige, the little guys just keep on plugging away and …
Poverty is a constant headache for every administration. It seems that no matter what the government does–whoever is at the helm of Malacanang at a particular time—there will always be poor people and their number will always be overwhelming. One typical characteristic of being poor is the lack or utter absence of access to basic …
The spirit of “Bayanihan” was never more pronounced than the time the whole country bonded together in multi-pronged recovery and reconstruction efforts following the bout with super typhoon Yolanda. Political, religious, and ethnic differences were temporarily shelved in favor of helping each other bounce back from that harrowing ordeal. The rural banking industry epitomizes that …
MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may implement stricter guidelines on banks’ exposure to the real estate sector as the country’s property market continues to boom. “Our prudential focus here is to monitor and determine whether acceptable credit standards are maintained by banks with respect to their exposures to real estate,” BSP …
The National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) is a Secondary Mortgage Institution (SMI) with the primary purpose of attracting long term investments through the issuance of housing bonds or other securities in order to increase liquidity in the housing sector and to purchase residential loan/mortgage receivables originated by both public and private institutions and developers …
The mission of the Rural Bankers Association is to support the ability of its members to offer quality banking services to all their constituencies, comply with regulatory requirements, and to promote the welfare of the communities in which they operate.
