Philippine delegation visited Sparkasse Rothenburg o.d.T.
At the end of July, a delegation from CARD SME Bank from the Philippines visited the German savings bank Sparkasse Rothenburg o.d.T.
Visit of a branch office – How works a German savings bank branch?
In cooperation with the savings bank, Sparkassenstiftung advises the Philippine Bank in the development of professional and efficient structures in order to enable small and medium enterprises to gain access to financial services. The Bank’s target group consists especially of previous microfinance customers that are economically successful and now in need of more than “just” microfinance products.
The aim of the one-week visit was to become acquainted with the successful model of the German savings banks. The programme focused on practical implications of discussion topics and included the inspection of branch offices and participation in meetings with customers. Discussions with employees focused for instance on how to deal with challenging customers or delinquent loans. The topics risk management, further training of loan officers and marketing activities were also on the programme. The exchange of experiences is to make a contribution to getting the modus operandi of the German partner savings bank applied and adopted in adapted form in the foreign context.
On this, a participant of the Filipino delegation remarked: “In the branch office Rödertor, we have been very impressed how a small boy with his savings boxes (among them also savings boxes from competitors) went to a coin deposit machine and placed his savings on deposit on his own savings bank deposit book. This could also be a goal for us in the Philippines. Kids already come and pay into the bank.”
The Chairman of the Board of Sparkasse Rothenburg, Mr Werner E. Thum, supports the cooperation with the Philippine partner: “I don’t understand the foundation’s project to be a one-way road. I believe it brings very high returns for our savings bank and for each of us.”
With her engagement, Sparkasse Rothenburg makes a big contribution to the continuing development of CARD SME Bank. Her experts, who support CARD SME Bank in short-term assignments, in return gain new stimuli for their work at home, since they can deliberate and use their expert knowledge under different surrounding conditions.
Contact partners:
Mrs. Nicole Brand / Mrs. Christina Heuft
Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation
Simrockstraße 4
53113 Bonn
Germany
Tel.: +49 228 9703-634 / -618
Fax: +49 228 9703-630 / -613