Countries & Regions

Globally ranked amongst the top microfinance markets in terms of policy and also for regulation and microfinance business environment, the Philippines has a set platform to emerge as an important microfinance market in the East Asia and the Pacific. Find out about the latest developments and the in-depth trends in performance of the market throughout the Philippine Country Briefing:

• Overview: the Philippines government and the central bank have played a key role in creating an enabling environment for microfinance. Started formally in the late 1980s by NGOs replicating the Grameen model, microfinance in the Philippines has become a global leader in microfinance policies and regulations.
• Supply & Demand: There has been a steady growth in lending while MFIs from the Philippines have also been successful in mobilizing larger deposits. In recent years, mobile money has also been on the fast track.
• Funding: Deposits are the main source of funding for Philippine MFIs followed by Borrowings and Equity. Philippine funding is dominated by domestic sources, mostly the government, but a proposal to open up the equity of Rural Banks to foreign shareholders may change that.
• Performance: The return on assets of MFIs has been steady over the past few years. Though, the operating expense ratio has declined, it still remains high when compared to other countries in the region. 
• Quarterly Update: An in-depth analysis of the proposed legislation to allow rural bank access to foreign markets. Additionally an analysis from the MIX Barometer of Philippine MFIs forecasts indicates that the growth rates would drop slightly in the fiscal year 2012 as compared to the past years.

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