International Finance Corp.’s (IFC) $100 million investment in City Savings Bank Inc. (CitySavings) has been used to issue social bonds, which is considered the first social bond issuance by a thrift bank in the country.
The capital raised will be directed toward providing loans to women from low and lower-middle-income groups. These loans are intended to enable women to invest in small businesses, supplementing family income and covering essential expenses such as healthcare, education, and housing.
“This landmark issuance will help us expand our services to reach underserved and vulnerable segments of society, allowing us to further our mission to elevate the lives of people,” said Lorenzo Ocampo, CEO of City Savings Bank.
CitySavings, a subsidiary of Union Bank of the Philippines, is recognized as one of the largest thrift banks in the country, serving a diverse clientele including public school teachers, government workers, and pensioners.
“Investing in women is not only the right thing to do, it also makes good business sense,” said Riccardo Puliti, regional vice president for Asia and the Pacific at IFC. “This landmark issuance will build investor confidence and channel more capital to companies in the Philippines that promote social, economic, and gender equality.”
This investment is part of IFC’s broader strategy to deepen capital markets in the Philippines through thematic bond issuances such as social, green, and blue bonds. Previous collaborations include a $150 million social bond with UnionBank in July 2021 to support MSMEs recovering from the pandemic, and a partnership with Ayala Corp. in November 2021 to issue a social bond for the development of the country’s first green-certified cancer hospital.
The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is dedicated to fostering private sector growth in emerging markets, making significant strides in advancing social and economic development across the globe.