Time for review

The recent symposium of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) held in November centered on the relevance for this year’s theme, believing that it is high time to examine the significance of rural banking to the owners themselves, to the clients, community and to regulators. Flags of concern should be hoisted up if any part of this link, the relevance has diminished, or worse, is gone.

For rural banks to remain relevant, Rep. Nelson Collantes of Batangas, who also chairs House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries, mentioned in his speech the need for Congress to assess and reevaluate the relevance and practicality of mandatory credit allocation programs such as Republic Act 10000, or the Agri-Agra Law, and RA 9501, or the Magna Carta for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).