68,000 motorcycle owners benefit from BDO loans

If you are a motorist who is annoyed and angry about the glut of motorcycle riders on the road—many of them violating traffic rules and endangering other motorists—perhaps you might blame the extra loose and expansive financing available to these buyers.

Blame, too, must go to the government’s inability to provide public transport systems along with a working traffic management policy.

BDO Unibank has begun the public offer for its fifth ASEAN sustainability bond, targeting at least P5 billion from three-year notes. Its issuance in July raised P115 billion from 1.5-year bonds, far exceeding the initial P5-billion target and marking the biggest peso bond sale on record.

Much of the proceeds from this bond sale will go to loans of some 68,000 motorcycle buyers all over the country.

BDO said the motorcycle financing supports access to practical transport and livelihood opportunities for micro and small enterprises, while also improving delivery and mobility services in local communities.

The bank added that the program benefits small businesses through faster and more affordable transport, helping reduce costs and improve access to customers, particularly in underserved areas.

BDO announced that the bank funded 68,409 riders through its partnership with Unistar Credit and Finance Corp. and its motorcycle retail arm Trancycle, which operates 280 branches nationwide.

The financing supports workers who rely on motorcycles for income-generating activities, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao.

“Access to financial services is essential for economic empowerment,” BDO Executive Vice-President and Institutional Banking Group head Charles M. Rodriguez said in a statement. “Through BDO’s ASEAN sustainability bond, we are helping Filipinos gain the financial tools they need to build sustainable livelihoods.”