Government bank, Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), said it has increased the funding of its LANDBANK I-RESCUE (Interim Rehabilitation Support to Cushion Unfavorably-affected Enterprises by COVID-19) Lending Program to P50 billion from its initial P10 billion two months ago.

In a statement, Landbank said they now allot P50 billion to accommodate more borrowers after its first P10 billion has been used up. It raised the funding to P20 billion only last April.

This program, which is for local businesses that were badly hit by the pandemic, required the additional budget to “provide more credit and loan restructuring assistance to businesses whose operations have been severely affected by the pandemic, through more flexible loan terms and conditions.”

“Since its launch at the height of the pandemic last year, the I-RESCUE Lending Program has gained wide acceptance from borrowers striving to keep their businesses afloat amid the ongoing crisis,” said Landbank president and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo.

Borromeo, who used to be CEO of Development Bank of the Philippines before returning to Landbank where she rose the ranks as senior official, said they will provide more “responsive credit assistance” to accelerate the economic recovery.

Landbank will keep the lending program until end-2022. The program also provides the bank’s existing clietns with loan restructuring assistance via additional loan and extended repayment period, or a combination of means to rehabilitate and restore operational cash flow.

As of end-May this year, the state-owned bank has approved P20.95 billion worth of loans to 460 borrowers. These borrowers include 310 micro, small and medium enterprises, 83 cooperatives, 62 large corporations, and five microfinance institutions.

About 93 percent or P19.53 billion has already been disbursed.

The I-RESCUE Lending Program allow eligible borrowers to get up to 85 percent of their emergency or permanent working capital requirements at a five percent interest rate of per annum for three years, subject to annual re-pricing. The loan is payable up to 10 years with a maximum of two years grace period on the principal repayment.

It offers a sub-credit facility for MSMEs and cooperatives, as well as self-employed individuals duly registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), classified to be critically affected by the ongoing pandemic, said Landbank.

“Qualified borrowers may borrow a minimum amount of P100,000 or up to 85 percent of the actual permanent working capital requirement but not exceeding P3 million, at a lower fixed interest rate of three per annum, with no hard collateral requirement, and payable for up to three years,” the bank added.