Manila: Consumer finance platform Billease signed a PHP1-billion credit facility with Philippine National Bank (PNB) on Thursday to expand financing options and credit access for Filipino consumers.

According to Philippines News Agency, the facility utilizes the Personal Property Security Registry (PPSR) to provide PNB a secured interest over BillEase's high-quality consumer loan receivables, ensuring the bank is protected. To secure the facility, BillEase pledges a regularly refreshed pool of active customer loans worth more than the borrowed amount, instantly replacing any repaid or delinquent accounts.

Customer repayments are also channeled into a structured payment priority where PNB is paid first, offering the bank a safe, efficient way to expand its exposure to retail consumer credit. "We are deliberately expanding our local funding base here at home, with the country's leading banks, because that allows us to keep serving more Filipinos with affordable, responsible credit," Billease co-founder and chief executive officer Georg Steiger said.

"PNB coming on board is a strong signal, it says the largest institutions in the market are ready to fund this kind of lending when it is done with discipline. We have built a profitable business that scales without compromising on underwriting standards, and relationships like this let us fund that growth locally, on improving terms."

In fiscal year 2025, BillEase grew its revenues by 80 percent to PHP8.7 billion, generating a PHP782 million net profit and driving its gross loan book to PHP12.5 billion. The platform now sustains this growth by onboarding over 200,000 new customers and disbursing more than PHP5 billion every month.

"Billease has demonstrated strong portfolio quality across different market cycles. This track record gave us confidence to establish this relationship at a meaningful scale. We see this as the beginning of a broader partnership and look forward to exploring additional opportunities to work together," PNB Executive Vice President and Head of Institutional Banking Sector Roberto Fo Abastillas said.

BillEase said the PNB facility advances its strategy of increasingly funding growth through local partners and aligns with its entry into banking. The company earlier acquired a rural bank, which is expected to broaden the products offered to customers, including savings and deposits.