Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is looking to increase its serviced self-employed micro-entrepreneur (SEME) clients to nearly a million in the next three years.

BPI aims to achieve this target by 2025 through the lender’s BanKo’s NegosyoKo solution, which will give SEMEs access to convenient ways to fund their business operations.

“The more self-employed micro-entrepreneurs are banked, the better their chances of achieving their long-term financial goals,” BPI President and CEO Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco said in a statement on Monday.

“Banking the unbanked is the first area by which we see our involvement in the public-private collaboration. We aspire for a better Philippines, a nation that is inclusive and sustainable. This reinforces our commitment to help our country grow by providing relevant, innovative, and accessible financial solutions for all Filipinos,” Mr. Limcaoco added.

Through this, the Ayala-led bank said it will continue to support the central bank’s financial inclusion plan over the next six years.

The National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2022 to 2028 launched by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in January targets four key outcomes: reduced disparities in financial inclusion; improved health and resilience; more financially capable and empowered consumers; and increased access to financing among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The BSP wants 70% of adult Filipinos to have a formal financial account by 2023.

Meanwhile, the lender’s social responsibility arm BPI Foundation has been promoting financial wellness programs to underserved MSMEs that need guidance on financial management.

“Sustained financial education and enterprise development and livelihood interventions can stimulate inclusive growth,” Mr. Limcaoco said.

INFRASTRUCTURE, SUSTAINABILITY
BPI will also continue to work with the new administration in infrastructure development, Mr. Limcaoco said.

He said the lender will continue to support the government’s Build Build Build program through project financing.

The bank also remains focused on continuing its work on sustainability, as efforts toward this end are deeply entrenched in BPI’s way of doing business, Mr. Limcaoco added. BPI has disbursed nearly P75 billion for sustainability projects through its Sustainable Development Finance, it said.

BPI’s net income rose by 82.9% to P12.5 billion in the second quarter from the P6.8 billion recorded in the same period last year. This brought the lender’s net earnings for the first half of the year to P20.4 billion.

The Ayala-led lender’s shares rose by 75 centavos or 0.78% to close at P96.5 each on Monday. – K.B. Ta-asan

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