THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued a public advisory on Wednesday, reminding unwary citizens not to deal with companies and persons soliciting money in the guise of the Central Bank’s credit enhancement program.
The BSP singled out a company named CoopHub, saying it has no authorization to solicit money and act as a Credit Surety Fund (CSF).
“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas advises the public that it has not certified CoopHub and/or any of its representatives and does not certify other persons, associations, cooperatives or organizations to facilitate and implement the BSP’s advocacy of the Credit Surety Fund program under Republic Act (RA) 10744 or the CSF Cooperative Act of 2015 and its implementing rules and regulations,” the BSP said in a news statement issued on Wednesday.
According to its web site, the CoopHub is an “umbrella organization of multisectoral groups of community leaders and volunteers.” The group said its members include cooperatives, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations and micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs).
The CSF is a credit enhancement program initiated by the Central Bank for MSMEs that cannot access bank credit due to lack of hard collaterals and credit history.
It works through pooling monetary contributions from cooperatives, NGOs, local government units and partner institutions. This pooled monetary contributions then serve as an alternative security in lieu of the hard collaterals required by banks, thereby helping capital-short MSMEs with viable business plans gain access to bank loans. The BSP said the public is warned not to deal with “any entity or person soliciting money, investment or other activities who claims to be an officer and/or employee of the BSP in connection with the CSF program.”
