Credit access boosted by property security law
THE newly signed Republic Act 11057, or the Personal Property Security Act (PPSA), will boost small businesses, farmers and fishermen’s access to credit, as well as improve competitiveness, the Department of Finance (DoF) said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the DoF said the law “simplified and harmonized the Chattel Mortgage law of 1906 and other fragmented and outdated financing regulations in the country by enabling borrowers to secure financing using non-traditional collateral, such as account receivables, inventory, warehouse receipts, crops, livestock, machinery and equipment.”
Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on August 17, the PPSA also established, among others, a unified and centralized online notice-based collateral registry that will be lodged in the Land Registration Authority, and clearer priority rules in case of foreclosure.
“This will provide protection and more confidence to banks and financial institutions in lending to the agriculture sector and MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises),” which make up 99.6 percent of businesses in the country, of which 96 percent are micro enterprises, the Finance department said.
“President Duterte signed this measure into law in sync with his vision for sustained high growth and greater financial inclusion,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said.
Perceived higher risks on SME financing were making it difficult for MSMEs to meet bank requirements to get loan approvals, he noted.
According to the Finance chief, the law will help boost economic growth, because access to financing is critical in raising the productivity of MSMEs and the agriculture sector. This, in turn, could lift millions of Filipinos out of poverty and hasten inclusive growth in the countryside.
”In case of default, borrowers and lenders may opt to put movable collateral for private sale,” the DoF said.
Any excess from the proceeds after debts have been settled may be returned to the borrower, it added.
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