In recognition of its role in pushing for financial inclusion among Filipinos, the Cebuana Lhuillier Bank (CLB) was recently conferred the “Rural/Cooperative Bank of the Year – Philippines” award in the just-concluded 2022 Asian Banking & Finance (ABF) Retail Banking Awards.
The ABF Retail Banking Awards honors outstanding banks that have proven to be ‘game-changers’ in the industry, especially in coping with the effects of the pandemic under the new normal. The award-giving body recognized 140 exceptional banks from 31 countries that were judged by different experts in Asia’s finance industry.
CLB, the banking arm of micro-financial giant Cebuana Lhuillier and a part of the PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies, was recognized for the impressive initiatives and innovative financial products and services that it offered during the pandemic.
In conferring the award, the ABF specifically cited CLB’s push for financial inclusion through the launch of its “game-changing” Cebuana Lhuillier Micro Savings product, which has made savings a possibility for a majority of unserved and unbanked Filipinos.
“Financial inclusion has always been at the core of who we are at Cebuana Lhuillier,” explained Jean Henri Lhuillier, President and CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier and Vice Chairman of Cebuana Lhuillier Bank (CLB). “This is reflected in the products and services we offer to the many communities that we serve nationwide. The introduction of the Cebuana Lhuillier Micro Savings highlighted the importance of accessibility in order to save money, and we (have) made it possible through the many branches of Cebuana Lhuillier nationwide. This has allowed many of our kababayans to start saving for their future, no matter how small the amount may be – ultimately taking their first step towards being financially-included,” he added.
CLB’s partnership with Cebuana Lhuillier as its cash agent partner extended the bank’s reach to more than 2,500 stores nationwide and 20,000 network partners both offline and digital spaces, giving more people, especially those in hard-to-reach areas, access to banking services and allowing more Filipinos to save up.
Micro-savings to provide bank access to every Filipino, even those in the rural areas
For his part, Dennis Valdes, President of Cebuana Lhuillier Bank, said, “When Cebuana Lhuillier Bank was founded more than 20 years ago at its first location in Southern Luzon, we saw first-hand the (immediate) need for accessibility to financial products and services, especially in the rural communities.’
“Our micro-savings product was our way of ensuring that every Filipino, especially if they live in rural communities, will still have access to a bank, and will still have the opportunity to save for their future. While the recognition we receive is a huge honor; it also encourages us at CLB to further push forward to bring more banking products that continue to be the right fit for every Filipino,” he added.
Through CLB’s micro-savings product, Filipinos now have access to a simplified, secured, affordable, and reliable banking service which has remained a basic necessity, especially during the pandemic.
Since the launch of the Cebuana Lhuillier Micro Savings product in 2019 — with Cebuana Lhuillier serving as its cash agent — micro-savings has pushed for the financial empowerment of many Filipinos, regardless of their socio-economic status and location.
The Cebuana Lhuillier Micro Savings now has more than five million savings account holders in just after two years since its launch.
CLB gets another recognition for its support of the BSP’s financial inclusion efforts
CLB, the banking arm of Cebuana Lhuillier, was also recently acknowledged by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as one of its outstanding stakeholders for 2021. It recognized the micro-savings bank’s active role in the government’s own program toward a more financially-included Philippines.
The award was presented during the BSP Stakeholders Appreciation Ceremony which had, for this year’s theme, “Pagpugay at Pagkilala sa Gitna ng Hamon ng Pandemya.”
In support of BSP’s vision of financial inclusion for Filipinos, CLB has since made its extensive product line and services more readily available from its branches to digital channels in an effort to reach out to more clients and widen their accessibility at the height of the pandemic.
Valdes noted that the recent citations and recognitions that they have received are just the beginning for the bank.
Currently, CLB is pushing towards exploring the digital landscape to further promote their other products, which included a full roster of savings and loans products, towards their market.
Part of their goal is to put in place a seamless omnichannel experience, combining the strengths of both its physical branches complimented with the latest innovations in tech.