Asialink Finance Corporation has tied up with credit information and risk management firm CIBI Information Inc. for access to the creditworthiness data of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“We are on an expansion mode and we need to be guided with credit scores to manage our risks in lending to these companies that banks do not lend to," said Asialink Chairman Ruben Lugtu.

Asialink lends out about P1.3 billion a month to SMEs. In 2022, it reported a 44-percent growth in total revenues of P3.096 billion from P2.15 billion a year earlier. Its asset value went up by 39 per cent to P11.37 billion.

The firm borrows from banks and, lately, from the capital market for relending to this unbanked sector, approving loans within a day for known and repeat clients. The securities are usually motor vehicles.

Early this year, it raised P2 billion in corporate notes from SB Capital Investment Corp. and RCBC Capital, acting as Joint Lead Arranger and Manager, and borrowed P1 billion from Yuanta Savings Bank Yuanta Saving Bank and Small Business Corporation.

Its repayment performance is better than banks’ because “we have fine-tuned our business model and know how to deal with borrowers who are actually bankable but find it hard to meet the stricter lending requirements of banks,” said Lugtu.

CIBI has been a vital player in the Philippine credit industry. It specializes in providing credit reports and scores that help lenders, financial institutions and businesses make informed lending decisions.

“As our CIBI partnership unfolds, clients of Asialink can look forward to more accurate and transparent inclusive credit scoring solutions,” he said.

Asialink was formed in June 1997, with a capitalization of just P3 million. Today, it has over 1,000 employees, thousands of independent loan consultants, and more than 116 branches nationwide.