Everyone has been in that situation before.
A sudden emergency, say a utilities that’s due, all the “jonas” and “judith” jokes becoming reality. And the rent is due, too.
And then there’s the disconnection notice from the power firm which is due in two days (que horror!), and the clincher? The paycheck is not coming in until next week.
A perfect day to panic? Or beg the distant-cousin-twice-removed that you are in fact related and can she please please please loan you some money? Or hope perhaps that some eccentric uncle has left a fortune for you on his will?
It’s situations like these make one vulnerable to predatory money lenders, especially those mushrooming online with highway robbery interest rates, hidden charges, and fine print so small it needs a microscope to read the text.
Enter Association of Financial Institutions of Negros Occidental (AFINO).
The organization of 31-strong members have been around for 30 years but its presence was felt during the pandemic when the small and medium businesses felt a huge blow and a dip in their income no thanks to the seemingly neverending lockdowns and quarantines.
“There was a high demand for lending institutions after the pandemic, especially among small business enterprises,” AFINO president Tristan Santos said.
The demand rose mainly because AFINO members charge reasonable interest rates of 1 to 1.8 percent only compared to the 20 percent rates of some of the most usurious lending firms.
It helps, according to Tristan, that the 31 members of AFINO share a sense of community, so they can help each other make sound decisions especially on loan approvals.
“The members can have access to the credit ratings of the members’ clients so we know which ones have a good record and which ones don’t,” he says.
Their members are approached by business, mostly small and medium but occasionally a big one, especially those in need of capital infusion.
They also have a credit investigator to ensure that documents that potential clients submit as collateral — say, a land title — is authentic.
“It’s easy to fake things these days especially with technology,” Tristan says.
But verify they must. This sets them apart the online lending companies that offer usurious rates and loads of hidden charges.
AFINO has 31 members and these are: Baceco Finance Corp., Bacolod All Lending Corp., Boston Finance & Investment Corp., Commercial Credit Corporation of Negros
Creditline Finance, Inc.,
Eastern Panay Credit Corp., EMB Capital Lending Corp., First Standard Finance Corp.
FTB Finance Corp., G Capital Finance, Inc., Globewest Finance & Credit Corp.,
Goldcheck Finance & Development Corp., Golden Sun Finance Corp., GRP Credit Holdings, Inc., ICredit Finance Corp., La Castellana I Personnel Multi-Purpose Cooperative,
Malachi Finance Corp., Marayo Bank, Inc.
Mars Finance Corp., Meridian Finance & Credit Corp., Midland Finance Corp. of Bacolod,
Monarch Finance Corp., Negros Safe Lending, Inc., Neptune Finance Corp.,
Opell Finance & Holdings, Inc., Orix Metro Leasing & Finance Corp., PCCI Finance Corp.
Perma Capital Finance Corp., Top Capital Lenders Corp., V.I. Finance (Iloilo), Inc., and
Yusay Credit & Finance Corp.
AFINO is celebrating its 30th Anniversary on March 29 this year. The anniversary, which will be celebrated a week after, will be marked by socializing among the 31-strong members of AFINO.
