The Bank is listed in the Philippines Stock Exchange. The majority of the Bank’s shares are owned by the Yuchengco Group of Companies, a conglomerate with major interests in insurance, investments, schools, materials and construction and real estate. The balance of the shares are publicly held.

The investment is up to US$49 million in the Bank’s common equity.

48.31 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan
Equity	48.31

* These investment figures are indicative

The Bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and the network is comprised of 349 branches and 545 ATMs throughout the country.

The proposed Project is expected to have a high development impact as it will increase access to finance to MSMEs and support the consolidation of the Philippine banking sector. The Philippine banking system is extremely fragmented with over 818 operating banks. The system is inefficient with too many small players. Of the 818 banks, there are 38 commercial and universal banks that together own almost 95% of the banking industry's assets. IFC's strategy is to support consolidation in the industry to enable larger banks to go down market which should bring down credit cost through improved efficiencies.

Given the current economic climate, there is very limited access to significant amounts of long term capital in the Philippines. IFC's additionality is that it can provide much needed long term capital which the Bank needs to fund its growth. - IFC's investment in the Bank will improve the market's perception of the Bank and will give a much needed boost to its profile. - IFC's capital will enable the Bank to act as a catalyst to promote further SME and microfinance lending in frontier areas by supporting the Bank's regional growth strategy. - IFC also adds value by strengthening a local financial institution through the introduction of international best practices in corporate governance, specifically in: a) transparency with respect to related party transactions, b) enhanced conservative risk management practices, and c) sound accounting and provisioning practices.

This project has been classified as a Category FI project according to IFC’s Environmental and Social (E&S) Review Procedure. During appraisal, IFC analyzed the FI’s portfolio and determined the Applicable Performance Requirements to include the IFC FI Exclusion List, the applicable National Laws and regulations and the IFC Performance Standards (PS).

IFC also appraised the FI’s labor practices according to the IFC’s PS 2: Labor and Working Conditions and reviewed the FI’s capacity to manage E&S risks and to establish and maintain a Social & Environmental Management System (SEMS). Based on the review, the project is required to:
· Develop a SEMS, prior to disbursement to the satisfaction of IFC;
· Identify responsible, qualified persons to manage and implement the SEMS (SEMS officer);
· Commit to implement the SEMS, to ensure that its investments/activities supported by IFC financing are in compliance with the Applicable Performance Requirements;
· Demonstrate commitment to applying the labor standards established by the IFC Performance Standard 2: Labor and Working Conditions;
· Submit a periodic report to IFC as per a format to be provided by IFC