In support of the National Government’s strategy towards a more inclusive financial system, state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) opened five new branches in the first quarter of the year, with more DBP branches set to open within the year.
DBP continues to intensify efforts towards increasing Filipinos’ access to a wide range of financial products and services. The bank has expanded its network to 116 branches with the opening of banking offices strategically located in Bangui, Ilocos Norte; Siquijor, Siquijor Province; Lal-lo, Cagayan; and Tubigon and Ubay in Bohol. DBP also opened extension offices located in Naguilian, La Union and Cabugao, Ilocos Sur.
At present, DBP is the only universal bank with a presence in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur; Bangui, Ilocos Norte; Siquijor, Siquijor Province; and San Jose, Dinagat Island. With this pioneering effort to reach out to more underbanked communities, DBP continues to promote wide-ranging and all-encompassing growth countrywide.
During the opening of DBP Lal-lo, president and chief executive officer Cecilia C. Borromeo underscored that, “Our purpose and mission remain focused on our development mandate — of improving the lives and well-being of our countrymen and ensuring that development is broad-based, inclusive, and sustainable.”
DBP’s mandate includes introducing responsive financial products and services to more poor and marginalized communities that have limited access to credit and funding from formal institutions. By establishing a presence, DBP promotes and supports the development of these areas, financing schools, hospitals, farm-to-market roads, and other development infrastructure.
For instance, DBP Lal-lo branch is positioned to cater to the agriculture, fishing, industry, trade, and other sectors of the local economy.
DBP Siquijor, on the other hand, will support key industries in the province such as farming, tourism, furniture making, and fishing. Borromeo said that with the opening of DBP Siquijor, the bank is better poised to become a catalyst of development in the third smallest province in the country.
For his part, Siquijor governor Zaldy Villa thanked DBP for putting up a branch in the province, adding that DBP’s presence is expected to spur more development in the province as it can provide financing facilities to entrepreneurs in the area.
Last year, DBP opened 10 branches located in Bacoor, Cavite; Toledo, Cebu; Taguig, Tuktukan; Villanueva, Misamis Oriental; Pototan, Iloilo; Trento, Agusan del Sur; San Jose, Dinagat Islands; Palayan, Nueva Ecija; and Siargao and Claver in Surigao del Norte.
Borromeo said that DBP’s ultimate goal is to bring its development finance expertise closer to the unbanked in the countryside, thereby ensuring that the benefits of growth are cascaded to more people.