DBP marks its 71st anniversary this year as a more relevant and responsive government bank with its pivotal role in helping finance the administration’s “Build, Build, Build!” infrastructure program.
Since its beginnings as the Rehabilitation Finance Corporation tasked to fund post-war rehabilitation to its present-day role of being the country’s infrastructure bank, DBP has remained steadfast in its commitment to support the government’s various development initiatives.
The eighth largest bank in the country with assets totaling P557.84-billion as of the end of third quarter of 2017, DBP lends to projects in four core sectors namely, infrastructure and logistics, social services, environment and micro, small and medium enterprises.
DBP supports the infrastructure build-up program of the administration through its Connecting Rural Urban Intermodal Systems Efficiently (CRUISE) Program. In 2017, DBP launched its Infrastructure Contractors Support (ICONS) program to address funding gaps in infrastructure development in the country.
Promoting financial inclusivity
This year, DBP will expand its branch network to strengthen its presence in underserved areas in the country and support the national government’s thrust of financial inclusivity.
DBP is also looking at other areas that are unbanked, striking a balance between commercially-viable areas and underserved or unbanked towns.
The Bank will also aggressively target one million new depositors in the next five years, especially small depositors residing in underserved areas of the country as part of its advocacy to introduce more unbanked Filipinos into the financial mainstream.
Increasing support to core markets
DBP will also boost its lending to core markets this year under a new organizational structure, with a new lending sector that will enable it to speed up the processing of loans to key clients and prospective borrowers especially in the branches.
The Bank will be establishing lending centers in 22 provinces with more than half located in the Visayas and Mindanao regions. These lending centers will be empowered to approve loans at a certain level so that processing time is reduced.
DBP will aim for at least a 20% growth in its loan portfolio, as the bank primes itself as the premier policy and infrastructure bank in the country. As of September 30, 2017, DBP’s gross loan portfolio stood at P276.46 billion, up by 35.87% from the P203.48 billion recorded in the same period last year.
DBP will boost its assistance to core markets comprised mainly of local government units, water districts, electric distribution utilities, schools and hospitals. It will also streamline units for greater cost efficiency.
The Bank will also ramp up its lending activities for social services that are covering health care, education, housing, and community development projects next year.