PHILIPPINES ONE OF TOP FIVE COUNTRIES WITH UNBANKED POPULATION

The Philippines is of the top five countries found to have many unbanked citizens making them prey to predatory lending practices, according to Global Finance, citing a study by British research platform Merchant Machine.

The other four countries with many unbanked citizens include Morocco, Vietnam, Egypt, and Mexico: according to a just-released study by the British research firm where the unbanked population is the largest.

The Global Finance story bylined by Luca Ventura said that "in a global level, the regions with the highest proportion of developing or emerging economies, quite predictably, top the list: in the Middle East and Africa the 50% of the population is financially excluded, South and Central America follow at 38%, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics at 33%, Asia Pacific’s share stands at 24%.

"The lack of financial inclusion leaves them with limited safeguards if they lose their job or fall ill, (and) makes them vulnerable to usurious and predatory lenders. In other words, access to financial services is a vital factor for coping with and escaping poverty, which is also why 7 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals promoted by the United Nations see it as an essential factor in improving the condition of the most marginalized," the paper said.

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