Philguarantee, Sterling Bank sign P5-billion home guarantee cover

PHILIPPINE GUARANTEE CORP. (Philguarantee) has signed a P5-billion housing retail guarantee facility with Sterling Bank of Asia, Inc., aiming to expand access to home financing and support bank lending to underserved borrowers.

The agreement lets Philguarantee provide credit guarantees that reduce lending risks, allowing banks to extend more housing loans while maintaining prudent credit standards.

“Philguarantee provides an important mechanism that enables banks like Sterling Bank of Asia to extend housing loans with greater confidence and reach more deserving borrowers,” Sterling Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilio Paul D. San Pedro said in a statement on Thursday.

“This partnership allows us to do what the banks are meant to do — support aspirations while ensuring that lending remains prudent and sustainable,” he added.

The facility is expected to support financing for socialized and low-cost housing, segments that often face limited access to credit.

Philguarantee Senior Vice-President and Housing Guarantee Group Head Teresito Cayo A. Butardo said the agency’s guarantees go beyond risk mitigation by strengthening trust in both lenders and the broader financial system.

“As a government-owned and -controlled corporation attached to the Department of Finance, Philguarantee provides credit guarantees that reduce the risks of lending to sectors vital to economic growth, particularly housing, which is often underserved,” he said.

The partnership was formalized in a signing ceremony on March 17, building on a relationship between the two institutions that began in 2007.

“Our partnership with Sterling Bank of Asia plays an important role in fulfilling our mandate of strengthening the country’s credit delivery system,” Philguarantee President and Chief Executive Officer Alberto E. Pascual said.

Since end-2019, Philguarantee has backed almost P640 billion worth of loans, supporting more than 640,000 housing units as well as financing for farmers, fisherfolk and micro, small and medium enterprises. — Aaron Michael C. Sy