DBP on expansion binge to push financial inclusion

In support of government strategy towards a more in­clusive financial system, state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) opened five new branches in the first quarter with more DBP branches set to open within the year.

With its expansion pro­gram, DBP continues to in­tensify its efforts towards in­creasing Filipinos’ access to a wide range of financial prod­ucts and services.

The bank has expanded its network to 116 branches with the opening of banking offices strategically located in Bangui, Ilocos Norte; Siqui­jor, Siquijor Province; Lal-lo, Cagayan; and Tubigon and Ubay in Bohol.

DBP also opened exten­sion offices located in Nagu­ilian, La Union and Cabugao, Ilocos Sur.

DBP is the only universal bank with a presence in Cab­ugao, Ilocos Sur; Bangui, Ilo­cos Norte; Siquijor, Siquijor Province; and San Jose, Dina­gat Islands.

With this pioneering ef­fort to reach out to more underbanked communities, DBP continues to promote wide-ranging and all-encom­passing growth countrywide.

During the opening of DBP Lal-lo, DBP president and chief executive officer Cecilia Borromeo said the bank’s purpose and mission remain focused on its devel­opment mandate which is the improvement of the lives and well-being of Filipinos and ensuring that development is broad-based, inclusive, and sustainable.

DBP’s mandate includes introducing responsive finan­cial products and services to more poor and marginalized communities that have limit­ed access to credit and fund­ing from formal institutions.

By establishing a pres­ence, DBP promotes and supports the development of these areas, financing schools, hospitals, farm-to-market roads, and other development infrastructure.

For instance, DBP’s Lal-lo branch seeks to cater to the agriculture, fishing, industry, trade, and other sectors of the local economy.

DBP Siquijor, on the oth­er hand, will support key in­dustries in the province such as farming, tourism, furniture making, and fishing.

Borromeo said that with the opening of DBP Siquijor, the bank is better poised to become a catalyst of devel­opment in the third smallest province in the country.

For his part, Siquijor gov­ernor Zaldy Villa thanked DBP for putting up a branch in the province, adding that DBP’s presence is expected to spur more development in the province as it can provide fi­nancing facilities to entrepre­neurs in the area.

Last year, DBP opened 10 branches located in Bacoor, Cavite; Toledo, Cebu; Taguig, Tuktukan; Villanueva, Mis­amis Oriental; Pototan, Iloilo; Trento, Agusan del Sur; San Jose, Dinagat Islands; Palayan, Nueva Ecija; and Siargao and Claver in Surigao del Norte.

Borromeo said that DBP’s ultimate goal is to bring its de­velopment finance expertise closer to the unbanked in the countryside, thereby ensuring that the benefits of growth are cascaded to more people.

RIZA LOZADA