Corporate Profile
Empowering Local Businesses, Building Stronger Communities
WHO WE ARE
For over 50 years, LifeBank – A Rural Bank (LBRB) has been at the heart of Western Visayan communities, fostering growth and opportunity. We are a passionate team dedicated to empowering local micro-entrepreneurs, the backbone of our regional economy.
LifeBank – A Rural Bank (LBRB) has been in existence for the past 50 years and now holds a Head Office in Santa Barbara, Iloilo. Its three main branches are situated in Maasin, Iloilo City and Roxas City in Capiz.
In addition, it has 31 Branch-lite Units (BLUs) in the Provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras, Capiz, Aklan, and Antique. While the Bank caters to regular banking clients through its various loan products, it lends mostly to micro entrepreneurs. With 26 years of experience in this sector, microfinancing is considered to be the Bank’s core business.
LifeBank: Nurturing Communities, Cultivating Prosperity!
OUR STORY
LifeBank – A Rural Bank (LBRB), formerly Rural Bank of Maasin (Iloilo), Inc., was established on March 21, 1970, by the Perlas Family and other prominent members of the community of the Municipality of Maasin, Iloilo. The bank’s objective was to extend financial services in areas where access to credit was limited.
The bank’s vision and mission were defined when the Board of Directors held its first planning and visioning session in 1993. After the session, the Sustainable Development Investment Unit (SDIU) was built.
The SDIU institutionalized lending for sustainable development projects to develop human potential.
In June 1995, a branch was established in the Municipality of Santa Barbara, Iloilo. The branch experienced phenomenal growth as its deposits, loan portfolio, and resources increased beyond expectations while recognizing and affirming trust within the community. It was also in 1995 that the Ikabuhi Microfinance Program (IMP) was established. The program aims to activate savings and provide credit to enterprising poor women.
In 1998, LBRB adopted the Grameen methodology for its microfinance program, initially producing positive results. Later, weaknesses in the management information system and program policies were observed, prompting management to look for a better alternative. It was in November 2000 when the bank became a program partner of the Microfinance Support Program (MSP) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), where the bank was introduced to the Association for Social Advancement (ASA), pronounced ASHA- a Bangla word meaning HOPE. Since then, the bank has been implementing the Association for Social Advancement (ASA) methodology with incredible results, proven by its almost 100% repayment rate, early sustainability, and rapid expansion.
In January 2003 after covering most of Iloilo, the Board of Directors created the Lifebank Foundation, Inc. (LBF), now known as Lifebank Microfinance Foundation, Inc. (LMFI) to expand the program outside the province of Iloilo. While LBRB continues to grow in assets and capital, LBF’s microfinance operation grew to cover Panay and other parts of the country (Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao). In 2008, LBRB, having reached the required capitalization to operate in other parts of the country, started purchasing microfinance portfolio from LBF in the provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras, Antique, Aklan, and Capiz.
Currently, LBRB has a Head Office in Santa Barbara, Iloilo, three (3) branches, and forty-four (44) Branch- lite Units (BLUs). The branches are located in Maasin, Iloilo (since March 1970; formerly the Head Office),
Iloilo City (since May 2011), and Roxas City, Capiz (since May 2013). The BLUs operates in the Provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras, Capiz, Aklan, and Antique.
MISSION
Birthing and Empowering micro, small and medium entrepreneurs
We fuel dreams with microfinancing and equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed.
Cultivating Dynamic & Resilient Communities
VISION
To stand at the forefront as the Philippines’ Most Loved Rural Bank by providing a fully digitized and innovative array of micro and other financial services, complemented thru strategic partnerships by transformative social services that uplift the lives of impoverished Filipinos.
Our People
Our people are a dynamic force, competent, joyful, inspired and unwavering in their commitment to contribute to profound positive changes in the lives of the less fortunate.
Our People
Together with our partners, we contribute to a sustainable society free from poverty where empowered people live in harmony, prosperity and peace while expressing their full God-given human potential.