MicroFinance Transparency (MFTransparency) recently recognized TSPI’s commitment to transparent pricing of its micro-credit products and services. Last December 8, 2011, the international non-governmental organization sent to TSPI its official Seal of Transparency after TSPI participated in their Transparent Pricing Initiative Conference and submitted its loan product pricing data.

The Seal of Transparency from MFTransparency in recognition of TSPI's commitment to transparent pricing.

According to Ms. Aquilina G. Onesa, Social and Enterprise Development Services Director, the conference was a back-to-back event with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The first part showed the results of the study conducted by MFTransparency regarding the most transparent programs of lending institutions in the Philippines, in which TSPI’s Palayan Program (TPP), TSPI’s microlending program to rice farmers, ranked first with over 90% rating, the highest amongst the programs submitted by 43 micro-finance institutions (MFIs). Twenty-four out of these forty-three participating institutions are members of the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. (MCPI), the national network of microfinance institutions in the country. This reflects the network’s and the whole industry’s commitment to client protection through transparency pricing. The second part of the event covered updates on transparency initiatives by the BSP.

She said the main message of MFTransparency’s conference, echoed by BSP’s initiatives, is “to promote transparent and responsible pricing”, defined as not just saying to the clients that a particular loan product they wish to avail has a 3% interest per month but of letting them know the other fees they would pay to secure the loan, such as membership fees, insurance fees and savings, among others. The end goal of transparent and responsible pricing is to enable the clients to make informed decisions in securing loans from lending institutions, and for the proper regulation of the players in the micro-finance industry themselves.

MFTransparency is a global initiative working towards accurate and fair pricing in the micro-finance industry through pricing disclosure advocacy, training and education of stakeholders, policy advisory services and cooperation with other like-minded initiatives.