Cebu open its first branch of Cebuana Lhuillier Bank

With the establishment of its first branch in Cebu City, Cebuana Lhuillier Bank (CLB), one of the nation’s rural banks with the highest rate of growth, has set its sights on further expansion in the Visayas area.

The action is in keeping with the bank’s goal of ensuring financial inclusion for all Filipinos, particularly for consumers from rural areas. In particular, CLB is attempting to connect with mom-and-pop shops and micro, small, and medium-sized firms (MSMEs), whose operations unquestionably required a boost in the wake of the difficulties the economy has faced over the previous two years.

“MSMEs have always been the backbone of our economy, with 99% of total businesses in the Philippines considered falling under this sector. They are also a major source of employment, and also a major contributor in our total export revenues. However, in spite their huge contributions to the economy, MSMEs often lack financial resources that will help in their growth and development,” Cebuana Lhuillier Bank president Dennis Valdes said. “True to the mission of becoming a partner for progress, CLB’s first-ever branch here in Central Visayas is open to all, especially to the more than 65,000 MSMEs looking to further grow their business.”

Located within the business center of the city, CLB’s newest branch can be found in Acacia St., Brgy. Kamputhaw, Cebu City. The bank offers a wide variety of business loan products primarily aimed to provide financial assistance to MSME business owners for their working capital, business expansion, and investment. Depending on the business size and profile of the clients, CLB offers loan products such as Microfinance Loans, SME loans, and Corporate Business Loans.

Jean Henri Lhuillier, President & CEO of PJ Lhuillier Group of Companies, the parent company of Cebuana Lhuillier and Cebuana Lhuillier Bank, enthuses, “As a conglomerate, PJ Lhuillier has always been guided by its mission of financial inclusion. We make sure that this is reflected in all the products we offer in our companies, and a vital part of how we extend our services to the millions of Filipinos who rely on us for their micro financial needs. Our banking arm, Cebuana Lhuillier Bank is guided by this vision—from their ground-breaking micro savings product which empowered close to 6M Filipinos to start saving for their future, to their expansion plans to Visayas and Mindanao which will allow them to serve more of our kababayans and MSMEs in rural communities.”

CLB currently offers housing loans and business loans in the province. With low interest rates, fast application process, and flexible loan payments, CLB aims to empower MSMEs and business owners. Qualified CLB clients can get a maximum loan amount of PHP300,000 for business loan.

Aside from business loans, CLB also offers housing loans, and soon to be available in its Cebu branch, the Teachers Loan and Motorcycle Loan products.

The Mindanao region is anticipated to be served by CLB before the year is up, and the company now has five (5) branches nationally. In order to use Cebuana Lhuillier’s more than 3,000 branches countrywide for its Micro Savings product, CLB, the banking division of Cebuana Lhuillier, recently hired the sector leader to act as its cash agent. Due to the mobility offered by the eCebuana app, which allows users to effortlessly access microfinancial services including Micro Savings, Money Remittance, Bills Payment, and E-load services among others, the bank and its customers were more accessible thanks to the extensive network presence.