ASIALINK Finance Corp. has decided to tap CIBI Information Inc. to access the creditworthiness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
In a statement, Asialink said it intends to expand its lending to SMEs.
The company currently lends P1.3 billion a month to SMEs. In 2022, Asialink reported a 44-percent growth in total revenues of P3.096 billion from P2.15 billion a year earlier.
“We are on an expansion mode and we need to be guided with credit scores to manage our risks in lending to these companies that banks do not lend to,” Asialink Chairman Ruben O. Lugtu was quoted in the statement as saying.
Asialink borrows from banks and lately from the capital market for relending to this unbanked sector, approving loans within a day for known and repeat clients. The securities are usually motor vehicles.
Its repayment performance is “better than banks” because they have fine-tuned their business model and already know how to deal with borrowers who are actually bankable but find it hard to meet the stricter lending requirements of banks.
“As our CIBI partnership unfolds, clients of Asialink can look forward to more accurate and transparent inclusive credit scoring solutions,” Lugtu said.
Early this year, Asialink raised P2 billion in corporate notes from SB Capital Investment Corp. and RCBC Capital, acting as Joint Lead Arranger and Manager, and borrowed P1 billion from Yuanta Savings Bank and Small Business Corp.
