SB Corp. Activates CARES Program P2.3-B Loan

Small Business (SB) Corp., the financing arm of the Department of Trade and Industry, said on Wednesday that PHP2.27 billion worth of loans has been approved to help 21,358 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The approved loans are under the COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program of SB Corp. and DTI.

PHP2 billion worth of loans were already released to 19,601 of the total number of loan applicants.

DTI activated the CARES program in May 2020 to help ease the burden of MSMEs at a time when most of the country was on Enhanced Community Quarantine, the most strict form of quarantine in the Philippines. Moreover, CARES aims to help MSMEs restart or continue their operations, or lessen the impact of losses amid the pandemic.

SB Corp. in 2020 secured a PHP10 billion funding to be able to continue to aid MSMEs throughout the country. The financing arm acquired the funds for granting loans from RA 11519 or the “Bayanihan to Recover As One Act”.

Under the CARES program, SB Corp. is able to provide the following loans to MSMEs:

• PHP10,000 for businesses with a minimum asset size of PHP50,000
• PHP20,000 for businesses with a minimum asset size of PHP100,000
• PHP40,000 for businesses with a minimum asset size of PHP200,000
• PHP60,000 for businesses with a minimum asset size of PHP300,000
• PHP80,000 for businesses with a minimum asset size of PHP400,000
• PHP100,000 for businesses with minimum asset size of PHP500,000

SB Corp. may also grant a PHP150,000 worth of loan to businesses with a minimum asset size of PHP750,000, and PHP1 million worth of annual sales.

These government loans do not have interest. SB Corp. only charges service fees of 4 percent for loans with a one-year term, 6 percent for two-year loans, and 7.5 percent for three-year loans. (GFB)