MANILA, Philippines — Consumer financing firm Home Credit Philippines (HCPH) recently secured a P2.25 billion syndicated loan facility which will help sustain the growth of its operations in the country.
The loan was arranged by Citigroup Global Markets Asia Ltd., and was participated in by Citibank N.A. (Philippines), Union Bank of the Philippines, East West Bank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., and CTBC Bank Philippines.
HCPH chief financial officer Zdenek Jankovsky said the loan would be used to sustain the company’s expansion in the Philippines, with its customer base approaching two million borrowers.
“In only four years of operation in the Philippines, we have rapidly grown our customer base while establishing our presence in all major cities and provinces in the country,” Jankovsky said.
“This syndicated loan is highly strategic in sustaining our steep growth, and we are happy to be partnering with leading banks which share our vision,” he added.
According to Jankovsky, HCPH expects its growing customer base and presence in the country to boost loan receivables to P12 billion by yearend.
“In terms of agility and speed of progress, HCPH can be compared to a startup, especially since we are only four years old. But in terms of customer base and volume being generated, we are already comparable to much older and mature companies,” he said.
Jankovsky said Home Credit’s success in the Philippines could be attributed to its financially inclusive business model, as it provides loans even to first-time borrowers. He also noted the ease and speed of applying for a loan with the company.
He said HCPH currently has one of the fastest loan processing and approval time in the domestic market, with applications approved as fast as five minutes.
Home Credit is a Prague-based finance technology company that offers in-store financing for mobile devices and appliances.
Launched in 2013, HCPH now has a network of 3,300 partner stores nationwide.
Its partner stores include SM Appliance Store, Ansons, Abenson, Automatic Centre, Robinsons Appliances, and manufacturers, such as Oppo, My Phone and Cherry Mobile, among others.