The Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) calls on businesses to avail its Community Assistance and Reintegration Support (CARES) Plus lending program.
LandBank Pampanga Lending Center Head Alvin Dioscoro De Leon said this program aims to help local businesses affected by economic challenges or natural disasters recover and grow by providing affordable financing options.
“Under this, micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), cooperatives, or corporations can borrow money to help them restore their regular business operations. These loans can be used for working capital, equipment purchases, business expansion, or recovery efforts,” he said.
De Leon added that electric distribution utilities can also borrow under this program to continue supplying electricity to their clients, provided that they will not burden the public with sudden increase in charges.
Eligible borrowers can loan up to 80 percent of the total cost of their projects, either for repair or capital expenditures; while electric distribution utilities can borrow for their short-term working capital for generation and distribution expenses.
To prevent scams, the bank assesses based on the classification of the borrower’s business and other evidence to prove that they need the amount they are borrowing.
The bank also reminds them that they need to pay the loan, and advises clients on how they can cooperate in a prudent way to prevent them from borrowing too much.
“We also have a department that appraises and conducts thorough evaluation of the borrowers’ credentials and documents. After that, they will endorse [these] to us. On our part, we study their documents and conduct site visits to check on their projects. From there, we match the amount we will release to the borrowers’ cashflow or capacity to pay,” De Leon said.
The program offers a seven percent interest rate per annum which is payable within five to 10 years. Borrowers have the option to pay monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually, depending on the businesses’ cashflow.
Prospective borrowers should have a LandBank account because this is where the proceeds of the loan will be released.
“It is now easy to open an account even in the comforts of your homes through the LandBank Data On-Boarding System (DOBs). Just input your basic information online and the system will give you a reference number. Then you just have to bring that to your preferred branch within a month to facilitate opening of account,” Landbank Pampanga Lending Center Account Officer Jennielyn Zabala explained.
Interested loan borrowers may visit the nearest LandBank lending center to complete their application process and submit their requirements.
“We are giving two years from the declaration of a state of calamity or disaster for our prospective borrowers to avail of the LandBank CARES program. Our lending centers are located in our corporate centers, however, when a borrower or prospective borrower goes to our branches, they will be referred to our office,” De Leon said.
LandBank assures businesses that it has enough funds to help speed up their recovery, especially with the successive typhoons that hit the country.
“We also want to remind the public to be vigilant against scammers. Never give out sensitive bank information such as one time pin, CVV, and log in credentials on online banking platforms to anyone. Landbank will never ask for this information,” De Leon warned.
For other updates, he said the public can visit their website at www.landbank.com or through their official social media pages. (CLJD/MJSC,PIA Region 3-Pampanga)