2005 Philippines Benchmarking Report

In this second annual report on the topic, the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. (MCPI) and the Microfinance Information eXchange, Inc. (MIX) join efforts to discuss the microfinance sector in the Philippines.

The Benchmarking Philippine Microfinance 2005 report explores the dichotomy in performance of the two major players in Philippine microfinance – NGOs and rural banks. These different types of institutions practice two broadly different strategies in the quest for sustainability. NGOs in the Philippines have among the deepest outreach of any sector in the world but, to cover the costs of dealing with these underserved clients, they charge higher interest rates. On the other hand, rural banks sacrifice the single-minded focus on depth of outreach to provide services to a broader range of clientele, including depositors, allowing for lower expenses and lower interest rates.