Wednesday, March 3, 2021

LANDBANK offers PHP 50K loan for online class gadgets

Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) has expanded the coverage of its direct loan program for students, covering the purchase of electronic gadgets they need for online learning.

Under the enhanced I-STUDY (Interim Students’ Loan for Tuitions towards Upliftment of Education for the Development of the Youth) Lending Program, the LANDBANK is now offering a loan of up to PHP 50,000 per student to finance the purchase of learning gadgets such as laptop, desktop or tablet. This can be included in the maximum loanable amount of PHP 150,000 per student or PHP 300,000 per parent-borrower to cover payment for tuition or enrollment-related fees.

Moreover, students of legal age are now eligible to apply for the LANDBANK I-STUDY Program if they meet eligibility requirements. During the loan program’s initial launch last year, only parents and guardians or benefactors of students could apply for financial assistance.

“LANDBANK recognizes the need to support students in adapting to distance learning modalities. While we await the resumption of in-person classes, we hope that the I-STUDY Program can help students cover the financial requirements to purchase needed learning equipment and participate in online classes,” said LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo.

According to LANDBANK, this move of expanding the I-STUDY credit facility comes at the heels of recent government pronouncements for the continued implementation of distance learning as a step against the spread of COVID-19.

Furthermore, the enhancement of the I-STUDY Program also includes the increase in maximum age eligibility of students from 30 years old to 50 years old; inclusion of scholar students whose scholarships do not fully cover their tuition fees; and the coverage of non-scholar students from private pre-school, primary and secondary schools.

Meanwhile, LANDBANK has approved loans amounting to PHP 531.5 million to 16 educational institutions through the ACADEME (ACcess to Academic Development to Empower the Masses towards Endless Opportunities) Lending Program as of February 16, 2021. The Program targets to boost the capacity of private academic institutions to implement a ‘study now, pay later’ scheme for students.

The ACADEME Lending Program creates part of the Bank’s support to the education sector which offers credit to private and non-DepEd high schools, private Technical-Vocational and Education Training (TVET) institutions, and private Higher Education Institutions (HEls) such as colleges and universities to grant continuing education to their students.

LANDBANK also mentioned that the program offers the ‘3-3-3’ feature, with a PHP 3-billion-program fund in credit support, a low fixed interest rate of only 3% per annum, and payable based on the maturity of the sub-promissory notes but not to exceed three (3) years.

You may visit the official LANDBANK website for more information. Otherwise, you may also contact the LANDBANK Programs Management Department II at (02) 8405-7198 for more details about the features and application requirements of the I-STUDY and ACADEME lending programs.

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