THE Chamber of Thrift Banks backed the government’s planned bond issue to raise funds for the completion of the Department of Agriculture’s farm-to-market roads and its farm and fisheries mechanization program.
Chamber president Gregorio Anonas III said in a statement Friday the proposed bond flotation would allow banks to comply with the agri-agra law (the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act of 2009) that requires them to set aside 25 percent of loanable funds for agricultural and agrarian reform financing.
“This initiative is among the proposals elevated by CTB to our legislators, particularly to House Committee on Banks chairman Ben Evardone,” Anonas said.
“We are grateful to Cong. Evardone and the DA for introducing this program which we view as a win-win proposition for both the banking and agri sectors,” Anonas, who is also Wealthbank president, said.
He said CTB was committed to help farmers obtain a more dignified way of life through the extension of loans to increase farm productivity. He said CTB was also committed to its fiduciary responsibility to depositors whose funds the banks are bound to protect.
Agriculture last month announced a plan to do a bond flotation program this year to finance farm-to-market roads and farm mechanization projects aimed at improving the productivity of the sector.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said he made a proposal to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. to fund the backlog of 13,000 kilometers of farm-to-market roads as well as its farm modernization program.
“In the proposal, it is recommended that the government will float bonds to be sold to private and commercial banks to finance the construction and completion of critical farm-to-market roads which would connect food and agricultural production areas to the national highways and later railway loading depots en route to the market,” Piñol said in a statement. Julito G. Rada
“They both welcomed it and said the measure would utilize the vast resources of private and commercial banks who are required by law to lend 25 percent of their loan funds to the agriculture and fisheries sector,” Piñol said.
Espenilla said the bond flotation could be a “win-win” proposition since bond proceeds would benefit the agri-agra sector development and banks would have another channel to deploy their funds prudently while complying with mandatory credit allocation requirements.
