The First Microfinance Bank in Syria, distinguished banking services and various loans
The First Microfinance Bank in Syria provides a variety of loans and banking services to citizens residing in both rural and urban areas in the fields of health care, education, culture, tourism, rural development, support for institutions and commercial as well as industrial events, in addition to distinctive insurance services such as life insurance.
The director of Damascus branch of the First Microfinance Bank in Syria, Hashem al-Qaseer, explained that the bank focuses in its work on providing loans to the middle-income and non-existent segment with a ceiling of up to 5 million Syrian pounds and a specified repayment period of 4 years through simplified guarantees, including that the small project be part of the guarantee offered alongside conventional warranties.
With regard to the type of loans between the short ones, the bank grants income-generating loans to owners of workshops, small shops and smaller agricultural projects, social loans such as home repair and educational loans to support students from the primary stage all the way to master’s and doctoral degrees, financing educational courses and health loans in a short time that does not exceed 48 hours for those suffering from a disease. This is according to a medical report with a simple guarantee, in addition to loans for professionals to finance the purchase of musical instruments, for example.
In light of the global trend to use modern technology in digitizing banking services and the current government trend to support electronic banking services, the bank expressed its interest in providing electronic payment services in a broader manner, according to what al-Qaseer explained, noting that the first exhibition for financing and insurance technology, which concluded its work a few days ago, constituted an opportunity for convergence and exchange of experiences between electronic payment service providers, banks, public and private insurance companies, and software companies.
Al-Qaseer pointed out that the provision of electronic banking services and products such as loans from their inception to granting and paying them without the need to visit the bank’s branches contributes to reaching a larger segment of citizens through telecommunications and electronic payment companies and constitutes a better and more successful alternative to the horizontal geographical expansion which is encountered by great logistical difficulties and has high costs .
It is noteworthy that the First Microfinance Bank in Syria won in 2015 the third place in the world in the European Award for Microfinance among microfinance institutions that operate in post-disaster, conflict-affected areas and provide financial and non-financial services aimed at increasing the capacity of the affected population in order to create jobs and drive economic growth.
NR