LIFEBANK FOUNDATION

  • Location:  Iloilo, Philippines
  • Started microfinance operations:  1995
  • Unitus Partnership Start Date:  November 2006
  • Clients when partnership began:  55,000
  • Current clients served:  185,850


Background: Dr. Vincent Perlas was managing the Rural Bank of Ma’asin (Lifebank Rural Bank) when he launched LifeBank Foundation's first microfinance pilot project in 1995. LifeBank Foundation moved to a dedicated microfinance strategy in 2001; they use the tried-and-true ASA-Bangladesh methodology. The focus of LifeBank Foundation's staff and board is to actively explore ways to empower poor families, especially those excluded by the rural banking system, and help these families realize economic opportunities by accessing small financial products. LifeBank Foundation operates extensively in the central Philippines (the Visayas region) and is expanding to provide microfinance to clients throughout the country, including Luzon and Mindanao.

Leadership: LifeBank Foundation is led by Dr. Vincent Perlas, Senior Vice President of Microfinance and Finance, who has dedicated his time exclusively to microfinance since 2005. LifeBank Foundation also has a visionary board of directors–including bankers, entrepreneurs, and nationally recognized development practitioners and poverty advocates–that is deeply committed to serving the poor.

Vincent Perlas
With nearly 50 percent of the Philippine population living on less than $2 a day, there is a tremendous need to expand the reach of microfinance in our country. Unitus will help us replicate the kind of success we’ve had so far on a much broader scale. We’re very excited to have Unitus’s resources and expertise behind us as we grow to serve more of the Philippines’ working poor.

 

Product offerings and clientele: LifeBank Foundation provides microcredit loans to poor, entrepreneurial women in rural and urban areas using the flexible ASA-Bangladesh model. A typical client might own and operate Sari Sari corner stores, sell fish on the highway, or invest in husbandry.

Highlights and growth strategy: The regulatory environment in the Philippines is favorable for microfinance and there is significant opportunity for expansion: Only 1.8 million of the 5 million potential clients receive access to microfinance services in the Philippines. LifeBank Foundation has grown significantly by successfully employing ASA-Bangladesh’s lending methodology. Led by a visionary management team, LifeBank Foundation is very focused on serving the poor; their average loan size is about US$80.

Unitus also sits on LifeBank Foundation's board of directors. In addition, Unitus is providing LifeBank Foundation $250,000 in grants between 2006 and 2008 to help LifeBank Foundation bring in experienced senior management and implement a quality management information system to help the organization grow quickly. With Unitus’s support, LifeBank Foundation plans to reach 270,000 clients throughout the Philippines by 2009.

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