Central Bank of the Philippines and Cooperative Development Authority kick off Credit Surety Fund Spotlight Forum Series to boost MSME loan guarantees

The Central Bank of the Philippines and the Cooperative Development Authority launched the Credit Surety Fund Spotlight Forum Series to promote credit surety fund success stories and encourage more cooperatives, banks, and local government units to participate in the MSME loan guarantee mechanism. Credit surety funds provide guarantees that enable micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to borrow from banks without traditional collateral. The first hybrid session on 03 June 2025 featured the Nueva Vizcaya Credit Surety Fund Cooperative, a recipient of the Cooperative Development Authority Gawad Parangal award for “Most Outstanding CSF Cooperative” in 2023 and 2024, and reported more than PHP 509 million in bank loans released to its members since the fund’s establishment in 2020. Under the program, a credit surety fund is managed by a local government unit-partner cooperative and funded by contributions from cooperatives, non-government organisations, local government units, Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine Guarantee Corporation, donors, and other government agencies, with contributing cooperatives or NGOs and their MSME members eligible to borrow under the scheme. There are 46 registered CSF cooperatives nationwide, with the Cooperative Development Authority responsible for registration and supervision and the central bank leading promotion and organisational development and facilitating technical assistance such as trainings and seminars.