LGUs, PHILGUARANTEE BACK SMALL BUSINESSES

PhilGuarantee made available its SME Credit Guarantee Facility to cover loans of micro and small businesses amounting to PHP100,000 to PHP50 million and its Medium and Large Enterprises Credit Guarantee Facility to support loans above PHP50 million and up to PHP300 million.

In partnership with local government units (LGUs) and cooperatives, the state-run firm has also supported the Credit Surety Fund which will allow it to invest equity to guarantee cooperative loans, Pascual said.

To further support the government’s COVID-19 response programs, he said PhilGuarantee implemented a 60-day grace period for the payment of the premium on renewal of guarantee coverage for housing loans worth a total of PHP7.2 billion.

PhilGuarantee also provided a 60-day grace period for all existing, current and outstanding loans in the agriculture sector, which benefited 3,527 small farmers and fisherfolk; and a 60-day grace period under its housing programs and those with restructured accounts, which was availed of by 191 borrowers, Pascual said.

In line with the provisions of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Republic Act or RA 11469) and the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (RA 11494), PhilGuarantee waived penalties amounting to PHP56.9 million for its housing guarantees covering 51,084 loans, he said.

Pascual further said PhilGuarantee will continue expanding its credit guarantee support to key economic sectors and essential industries such as export, trading, health, manufacturing, renewable energy and commercial agriculture this year.

PhilGuarantee also aims to speed up its digital transformation and modernization initiatives, dispose of its big-ticket non-performing assets in 2021, and comply with good governance standards, which include the renewal of its International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 certification, he added.

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