Microfinance loan ceiling boosted to P300K for clients with good track record — BSP

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has raised to P300,000 the loan ceiling on the microfinance credit that 200 authorized banks may grant to borrowers who have completed two loan cycles.

New rules on microfinance—contained in BSP Circular 744—now allow the authorized banks to offer the “Microfinance Plus” loan to their clients seeking to grow their microenterprises and small businesses.

“As microenterprises grow with their loan cycles, they may need larger loans that can not be currently served by microfinance institutions and may be deemed too small by traditional banks,” the BSP said.

The 200 banks permitted to offer microfinance products serve almost one million clients, according to BSP data.

Alongside Circular 744, the BSP also issued Circular 748 on micro-agri loans to give banks the “flexibility to innovate on the design of their micro-agri loan products to better attune them to the peculiarities and cycles of various types of crops.”

Only those banks with “the appropriate risk management systems in place” will be allowed to innovate on their micro-agri loans on a product approval basis.

“These regulations further demonstrate the BSP’s commitment to create the environment which will allow banks to continually innovate to become more responsive to their client needs, diversify their income streams and ultimately increase the value of their services particularly to the unserved and underserved markets,” the BSP said. — ELR, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

FHM recalls 'racist' cover of March issue, apologizes

FHM Philippines on Monday said it will recall the men’s magazine’s March issue to quiet a rising uproar over its controversial "racist" cover, and has apologized.

The cover shows fair-skinned Kapuso actress Bela Padilla in a hot-pink bikini in the middle of dark-skinned models made even darker by their placement in shadows around Padilla. The tag line on the cover states: "Bela Padilla: Stepping out of the shadows."

FHM’s Philippine publisher Summit Media stated in part: "We apologize, and thank those who have raised their points. We apologize to Bela Padilla for any distress this may have caused her. In our pursuit to come up with edgier covers, we will strive to be more sensitive next time."

The magazine cover was uploaded on FHM’s Facebook page on February 25, igniting a firestorm that quickly spread online.

Writer Katrina Stuart Santiago denounced it as "a display of white supremacist ideology at its most vicious because it's shameless. It is a display of whiteness against blackness that is sold to us as fact: the white woman can only emerge as her true self from the shadows created by the black girls."

Twitter user Bea Cupin, who works in the advertising industry, noted, “I don’t know which is worse, the cover or the fact that they think it’s okay.”

“What were they thinking?” according to another tweet.

FHM has prided itself on being edgy, having convinced many high-profile models and actresses to pose nearly nude. But this cover seemed to offend more than impress.

Summit Media reacted to the online outrage by deciding to replace the cover of the March issue. It was the “most prudent move in the light of the confusion over the previous cover execution," it said in a statement. “We took all the points into consideration and have decided to take the side of sensitivity."

On Twitter, 20-year-old Bela Padilla apologized to those who took offense. “FHM and I meant no harm at all,” she said.

“Some things are out of control…” she said and further tweeted that “it had nothing to do with racial discrimination... The concept was stepping out of MY inhibitions, MY fears, MY shadows. Not bashing a certain race."

The outrage online began Saturday on Twitter when only the magazine cover was uploaded, continuing the magazine industry practice of “teasing” readers about upcoming issues in an attempt to jack up sales. The cover has since been removed from Facebook.

Past magazine covers that elicited buzz were those of Charice Pempengco and Jinkee Pacquiao. Netizens criticized their images for being overly “photoshopped.”

FHM did not indicate what they would put on the March cover as a replacement.

source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/249620/showbiz/fhm-recalls-racist-cover-of-march-issue-apologizes