Asialink, CIBI tie up for SME lending

Asialink Finance Corp. has tied up with credit information and risk management firm CIBI Information Inc. for access to the creditworthiness of small and medium companies.

"We are on an expansion mode and we need to be guided with credit scores to manage our risks in lending to these companies that banks do not lend to," said Ruben Lugtu, Asialink chairman.

Asialink lends out about P1.3 billion a month to SMEs. In 2022, it reported a 44-percent growth in total revenues of P3.096 billion from P2.15 billion a year earlier. Its asset value went up 39 per cent to P11.369 billion.

It borrows from banks and lately from the capital market for relending to this unbanked sector, approving loans within a day for known and repeat clients. The securities are usual motor vehicles.

P2-B debt float

Early this year, it raised P2 billion in corporate notes from SB Capital Investment Corp. and RCBC Capital, acting as joint lead arranger and manager, and borrowed P1 billion from Yuanta Savings Bank Yuanta Saving Bank and Small Business Corporation.

Its repayment performance is better than banks' because "we have fine-tuned our business model and know how to deal with borrowers who are actually bankable but find it hard to meet the stricter lending requirements of banks," Lugtu said.