WWB provides loan guarantee to CARD Bank from Standard Chartered in Philippines

Microfinance Monitor, Feb 10, 2010: Women’s World Banking, the largest global network of leading microfinance institutions and banks dedicated to the economic empowerment of women, has announced its first ever loan guarantee in Asia to support a $1.6 million loan by Standard Chartered Bank Philippines to WWB network member, CARD Bank.

WWB pledged $500,000, which was leveraged more than three times, in its latest effort to promote the responsible entry of commercial capital into the microfinance sector, spurring the development of the microfinance industry and enhancing efforts to provide basic financial services to millions of poor men and women around the world.

The loan, given by Standard Chartered Bank, is the bank’s first microfinance loan in Southeast Asia. It also marks the first time CARD Bank has received a commercial loan from a foreign bank.

“The commercial banking sector has a tremendous opportunity to expand their markets while making a real impact in the lives of so many poor around the world,” said WWB president and CEO Mary Ellen Iskenderian. “Through this bold effort, Women’s World Banking and Standard Chartered Bank are sending a strong signal to the rest of the commercial banking industry that an investment in microfinance is not only an investment in the future, but a sound business practice.”

Standard Chartered’s Global Head of Microfinance, Prashant Thakker, added, “As a bank our commitment to the microfinance sector is clear. We continue to provide financial services to the sector because of its impact on economic growth. This loan is important to us as it is Standard Chartered’s first microfinance loan in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia. There is a vast opportunity in the region to support microfinance institutions and help them increase outreach and impact. We look forward to continuing to work with WWB and increasing our support to the sector in the future.”

CARD Bank is one of the largest MFIs in the Philippines, with about 360,000 active borrowers and assets of $44 million. Almost all of CARD’s clients are poor women who live below the poverty line in rural parts of the Philippines, and the majority of its banking services are especially designed for landless rural workers.

WWB is a leading global network of 40 microfinance providers and banks, working in 28 countries to bring financial products and services to low-income entrepreneurs, especially women. The network is supported by an international team of experts based in New York who deliver expertise in product design and distribution, access to capital markets, and customer care and insight. The network serves over 20 million micro-entrepreneurs.