RBAP, Transunion pact boosts rural lending

The 400-member Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) has partnered with Transunion, a consumer credit reporting firm.

For RBAP, the partnership continues to make true the promise that the association made to its members.

This will enable credit information sharing among the country’s small lenders and help catalyze economic expansion and allow for higher levels of financial inclusion.

The partners believe that with shared credit information among rural banks, enable higher levels of financial inclusion as well as accelerated strengthen of the banking system soon follow.

With the credit information sharing in place, which includes positive information payments, Filipinos now have access to new or additional loans as rural banks now have the tool to better manage risk and assess their clients’ creditworthiness.

Former RBAP president Armando Bonifacio lauded this development, saying the partnership will help the volume of lending among rural banks grow.

“Our partnership with TransUnion will help facilitate an increase in business coming into rural banks. By using data-based, analytics-driven solutions, we expect the volume of lending to grow as the decision-making process becomes more fluid,” Bonifacio said.

“Ultimately, this will have a positive impact on the bottom line of each member rural bank. For RBAP, the partnership continues to make true the promise that the association made to its members,” he added.

TransUnion Philippines president and CEO Pia Arellano said the partnership as it is will provide lenders more informed lending decisions, benefitting both the bank and its clients in the process.