LANDBANK earns int’l awards for climate financing, digital innovation

Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) bagged two awards for its outstanding development projects on climate financing and digital account opening at the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) Development Awards 2020.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Program of the state-owned bank was adjudged as the winner under the Environmental Development category, while its Digital Onboarding System (DOBS) was bestowed with a Merit Award under the Technology Development category.

The awards were presented to LANDBANK during the 43^rd ADFIAP Virtual Annual Meeting held on October 28-29, 2020.

“We at LANDBANK always strive to go the extra mile in fulfilling our mission of delivering timely and responsive financial support services to our clients, while promoting sustainable development and environmental protection. This recognition inspires us to constantly do more and work harder,” said LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo.

The Bank’s GCF Program is an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Paris Agreement, dedicated to supporting global efforts to respond to the challenge of climate change.

The program aims to help developing countries limit or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to climate change by supporting programs and projects that promote a paradigm shift to low-emission and climate-resilient development.

LANDBANK is the first and only Direct Access Entity (DAE) to the GCF in the country, and one of 76 worldwide. As a DAE, LANDBANK has the mandate to oversee, manage, monitor, and channel financing to GCF-approved projects within the Philippines’ priority projects.

In November 2019, LANDBANK successfully worked for the approval of the country’s first GCF project, the Multi-Hazard Impact-Based Forecasting and Early Warning System. The project aims to reduce the exposure of vulnerable communities to climate-induced hydrometeorological hazards, strengthen their absorptive and adaptive capacities, and implement long-term climate risk reduction and adaptation measures.

LANDBANK’s DOBS is a web application that reduces account opening time from 30 minutes to only 10 minutes. It also simplifies the account enrolment process for individuals and institutional clients.

Opening an account through DOBS allows automatic enrollment to LANDBANK iAccess for internet banking, the LANDBANK Mobile App for convenient banking transactions through smartphones, and the LANDBANK Link.BizPortal for payment of bills, products and services to the enrolled merchants.

The DOBS is in line with LANDBANK’s thrust of promoting financial inclusion among farmers and fishers, as well as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), by providing them with an additional access point for their banking needs.

From November 2018 to end of September 2020, a total of 1,039,926 accounts were opened via DOBS. Of this figure, 492,156 accounts were opened in the first nine months of the year, including the 11,972 accounts in the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank), the Bank’s digital-only branchless bank subsidiary.

The full implementation of DOBS in January 2019 has helped reduce lobby traffic in LANDBANK branches.

The ADFIAP Development Awards is an annual awards ceremony that honors ADFIAP members who have contributed significantly to the development of their respective countries. It started in 1997 when the association hosted the “Summit on Development Finance” in the Philippines.