State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) remains at the forefront of development financing activities in the country, taking pride in the long and proven track record of funding high-impact projects aligned with the National Government’s goals of promoting sustainable and growth.
The bank has remained true to its developmental mission over the past seven decades by allocating funds for the government’s priority programs on poverty alleviation, energy security, healthcare, and housing and infrastructure development.
Institutional Viability
DBP has also maintained its position among the top-performing banks in the country by posting consistent growth in net income, assets, and loans in recent years. The net income rose 17 percent to hit P1.23-billion in the first three months of 2023, compared to the P1.05-billion posted during the same period last year.
As an attestation of its stability as a government financial institution, DBP has maintained its strong fiscal position, registering a 50 percent increase from its first-quarter net income target of P820-million while gross loan portfolio hit P547-billion, which is up slightly by two percent from the P539-billion recorded during the same period in 2022.
In spite of the increase in provision for credit losses by P765-million, the bank exceeded its target income for the first quarter of 2023, and registered a modest capital increase of four percent to P80.179-billion from the P76.823-billion recorded during the same period in 2022.
Expanded Lending
But beyond its financial performance, DBP’s relevance as a government bank is best reflected in the fulfilment of its developmental mandate, as proven by its sustained lending to strategic sectors of the economy.
With an enhanced mandate as an Infrastructure Bank, DBP has approved loans for the infrastructure and logistics sector totaling P285.235-billion as of end-March 2023. More than half of this amount was in support of the administration’s "Build Better More” program, with most of the projects located in the National Capital Region, Central Visayas, Davao, and Central Luzon.
The bank’s outstanding portfolio for social infrastructure and community development amounted to P107.84-billion while P35.82-billion in loans went to the agriculture sector. DBP also approved P78.54-billion for other developmental loans such as financial and insurance activities, including manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and food services, P54.166-billion for environment-related projects, and P30.604-billion for micro, small and medium enterprises.
Energy Efficiency and Security
To amplify support for the National Government’s 10-point agenda for economic renewal and long-term growth, DBP channels its resources to strengthen partnerships and promote programs that will benefit critical sectors of the economy.
DBP provides the necessary financing to all players in the energy industry as part of its continuing support to the National Government’s drive to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) by 35% in the country’s power generation mix by 2030. Loan programs for the energy sector are lumped under its Financing Utilities for Sustainable Energy Development (FUSED), a flagship credit program that seeks to increase access to electricity services in the countryside. As of end-March 2023, the lending program has already contributed more than P78.489 billion in investments in the energy sector.
DBP also recently granted a P1.8-billion funding support for the development of a 13.2 MegaWatt (MW) wind farm project of PetroWind Energy, Inc., which will be constructed on the southern part of the already operating 36MW Nabas-1 Wind Power Project in Aklan Province.
The bank also extended P441-million credit assistance to Leyte V Electric Cooperative, Inc. (LE.YECO V) for the 2MW Baomini-hydroelectric plant in Kananga, Ormoc City, Leyte to address the increasing demand for electricity in the area and boost the power needs of the northwestern part of Leyte.
DBP offers assistance to water districts, local government units and water utility firms to expand production capacity and explore additional water sources amidst the looming onset of the El Niño phenomenon in the latter part of the year.
The bank channels funding assistance to water-related projects under its pioneering Water for Every Resident (WATER) program, designed specifically to support projects that would provide affordable water supply at the community level.
Social Services and Community Development
DBP continues to provide lending support to initiatives that cater to the needs of the marginalized members of the society. Recently,a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) for a financing scheme to provide affordable and decent homes for informal settlers.
A P500-million credit assistance was recently granted to Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation for the development of Familia Apartments, a vertical socialized housing development that involves the construction of 1,004 residential housing units spread across 11 mid-rise buildings within the 400-hectare Pueblo de Oro township in Cagayan de Oro City.
P400-million has been extended for the construction of Healthstar Hospital and Medical Center – GMA, Inc. (HHMCI), the first and only Level-2 hospital in General Mariano Alvarez in Cavite, under its Strategic Healthcare Investments for Enhanced Lending and Development (SHIELD) program.
As of March 2023, DBP has approved 150 accounts under the SHIELD program with a total approved loan amount of P39.45-billion.
Moving Forward
Looking forward to achieving more and going further in its 76th year, the bank remains laser-focused on making its initiatives work for the Filipino people -- fully confident that the current socio-economic milieu would benefit from having a development financing institution that is truly faithful to its mandate.