By PNA and U.S. News Agency / Asian

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Provincial Government of Palawan, participating cooperatives and donor institutions formally launched Wednesday the Palawan Credit Surety Fund (Palawan CSF) at the Centro Grand Ballroom,Hotel Centro, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

The Palawan CSF is a surety fund established to help cooperatives and their micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) members secure collateral-free loans from banks.

The surety fund comes from the pooled cash contributions of participating cooperatives, local government unit and other partner institutions.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo and Palawan Provincial Governor Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra led the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) ushering the creation of Palawan CSF as the 24th Credit Surety Fund (CSF) in the country.

Ten cooperatives in the province have joined the Palawan CSF with an aggregate contribution of P2 million while the Provincial Government of Palawan, through Governor Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra, pledged to contribute P2 million.

The Industrial Guarantee and Loan Fund, Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines have also expressed strong support to the CSF Program with their contribution pledges to augment the fund.

Various sectors are expected to benefit from this credit enhancement scheme which also serves as an alternative lending window for MSMEs. The program also integrates a training component to enhance the skills of participating cooperatives in the areas of business plan preparation, loan evaluation, risk management and accounting system.