Philippines—CARD Bank

DAI supported the Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Bank in the creation of a small business bank (SBB). The CARD foundation was established in 1986 to address rural poverty by providing banking services to landless rural women in the Philippines. Since then, CARD expanded from its nongovernmental organization entity to include a rural bank which provides microcredit, an insurance affiliate, and an arm that addresses agriculturally tied financing needs by arranging and financing bulk purchase of inputs as well as financing of land acquisition. The development of small and medium enterprise (SME) banking services through an SBB was the next step in this progression, intended to benefit both those CARD members who have grown beyond current CARD offerings and other small businesses that are not well-served by the banking system. For the new CARD SBB to succeed, DAI highlighted the importance of reaching the SME segment with a clear and feasible strategy while institutionalizing a well-structured internal organisation. With this in mind, DAI executed a tailored, multiphased approach to the design and set up of CARD SBB.

Sample Activities

• Conduct a study on market conditions and leverage findings against the existing CARD Bank platform. Arrange an exposure trip to a best practice SME bank.
• Introduce new SME policy and procedures.
• Establish credit risk compliance with Basel II.

Select Results

• Established an appropriate credit risk environment, introduced a credit scoring tool and strengthened management information systems (MIS) as needed for strong credit scoring and client relationship management.
• Developed a well-founded marketing and branding strategy and develop the capacity of a new marketing team at CARD. Based on market research, developed an array of products fulfilling the needs of rural & peri-urban small businesses, as well as a cross-selling strategy.
• Identifed and trained the CARD SME Bank loan officers, marketing specialists, and manager(s). Conducted “Train the Trainers” program.
• Advised on IT development and MIS reporting and made recommendations on IT system.
• Oversaw the successful launch of CARD SME Bank, managed and closely monitored the overall progress of the project.