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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider DBP partners with 60-year-old rural bank to boost agri funding

DBP partners with 60-year-old rural bank to boost agri funding

Published Jun 6, 2026 10:14 am
Photo shows DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Michael O. de Jesus and Bayanihan Bank, Inc. President/Director Jose Paolo M. Palileo (second and third from right, respectively) during the loan signing ceremony between DBP and Bayanihan Bank, Inc. at the DBP Head Office in Makati City. Also present in the ceremony are DBP Senior Vice President Soraya F. Adiong (second from left), DBP Vice President Maricris D. Santiago (rightmost), and Bayanihan Bank, Inc. Independent Director Atty. Albert T. Concha Jr. (leftmost).
Photo shows DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Michael O. de Jesus and Bayanihan Bank, Inc. President/Director Jose Paolo M. Palileo (second and third from right, respectively) during the loan signing ceremony between DBP and Bayanihan Bank, Inc. at the DBP Head Office in Makati City. Also present in the ceremony are DBP Senior Vice President Soraya F. Adiong (second from left), DBP Vice President Maricris D. Santiago (rightmost), and Bayanihan Bank, Inc. Independent Director Atty. Albert T. Concha Jr. (leftmost).
State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) approved a ₱100 million credit line to Bayanihan Bank Inc., a rural lender, to expand financing for small-scale farmers and fishermen across several provinces.
In a statement, Michael O. de Jesus, DBP president and chief executive officer, said the state-owned lender extended the funds under its Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development credit facility.
De Jesus said the capital injection is intended to help sub-borrowers in marginalized communities secure working capital, acquire new equipment, and upgrade production facilities to meet growing market demand.
State institutions in the Philippines are under pressure to accelerate credit flow to the agricultural sector, which accounts for about a tenth of the country’s gross domestic product but remains vulnerable to climate shocks and structural bottlenecks.
The partnership with Bayanihan Bank signals an effort by the state lender to leverage grassroots financial institutions to reach unbanked or underserved rural workers.
“We view this partnership with Bayanihan Bank as a strategic move to ramp up the DBP’s support to the agriculture and fishery sector, in recognition of the critical role that it plays in promoting inclusive economic growth,” de Jesus said.
DBP, the country’s ninth-largest bank with ₱1.041 trillion in total assets, focuses its wholesale and retail lending on infrastructure, environment-related projects, social services, and micro, small, and medium enterprises.
Bayanihan Bank, established in 1960, operates across the National Capital Region and the provinces of Quezon, Laguna, and Pangasinan. Rural lenders like Bayanihan often act as crucial intermediaries for state funds because they possess the local credit history and network needed to manage risks associated with smallholder agricultural loans.
As of the end of April, the DBP had approved a total of ₱578.7 million in loans to 32 borrowers under the AFRD program, a portfolio that the bank says has reached more than 1,500 farmers and fishermen nationwide.
De Jesus said the state lender intends to forge additional partnerships with cooperatives, rural banks, and microfinance networks to widen its reach and fulfill its developmental mandate.

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Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP)
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