The International Finance Corp. (IFC) is investing $100 million in a social bond issued by City Savings Bank Inc., the first thrift bank to issue such bond in the country.
In a statement, IFC said proceeds from the issuance will be used for loans to women in low and lower middle-income groups and encourage them to make investments in small businesses to support their family’s income in addition to payments for healthcare, education and housing.
“This landmark issuance will help us expand our services to reach underserved and vulnerable segments of society, allowing us to further our mission to elevate the lives of people,” Lorenzo Ocampo, chief executive officer of CitySavings, said.
A subsidiary of Union Bank of the Philippines, CitySavings is one of the largest thrift banks in the country which provides salary loans to public school teachers, government workers, pensioners and many other customer segments.
“Investing in women is not only the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense. This landmark issuance will build investor confidence and channel more capital to companies in the Philippines that promote social, economic and gender equality,” said Riccardo Puliti, IFC’s regional vice president for Asia and the Pacific.
IFC’s investment in CitySavings’ social bond is part of a broader approach in the Philippines to work with partners to deepen capital markets for thematic bond issuances, such as social bonds, green bonds and blue bonds.
