With Cambodians facing the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and the devastation 
of recent flooding across the country, the Kingdom's banking and finance 
institutions (BFIs) are extending a helping hand in difficult times, including 
the Association of Banks in Cambodia.

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Since the beginning of 2020, Cambodia's BFIs have raised more than US$500,000 
in donations for health, sanitary and food supplies to support vulnerable 
communities.

"Banking and finance are 'people businesses' at their heart and are driven by 
the ambition of helping people succeed and prosper through formal financial 
services. But this ambition clearly extends to helping people in need in any 
way we can," says Dr. In Channy, Chairman of the Association of Banks in 
Cambodia (ABC).

According to a recent Association survey, more than half of Cambodia's BFIs 
have embedded social impact in their core mission statements, with several 
committing a fixed percentage of revenue to support social causes related to 
the environment, education, healthcare and financial inclusion.

"MFIs in particular have a special place in post-war Cambodian society and the 
vast majority of our members put social impact at the heart of their 
operations," explains Cambodia Microfinance Association (CMA) Chairman, Mr. Kea 
Borann. "But it is about more than charitable donations and volunteer work, 
although those are important, and extends to the way the MFIs prioritize their 
customers' wellbeing in everything they do."

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have redoubled efforts to help clients by 
restructuring more than 270,000 loans valued at over 3 billion dollars with 
more work ongoing as the extent of the pandemic and the effects on the economy 
become clearer," he says.

"We are also working with our members to prepare for legislation currently 
being drafted that will embed client protection in Cambodian law, a move we 
strongly endorse," says Mr. Kea, noting that Cambodia's 9 leading MFIs and 
banks are already certified by the Smart Client Protection Principles, the 
global body that certifies microfinance institutions' adherence to client 
safeguarding principles.

Beyond tightening up legislation, the associations and the National Bank 
Cambodia (NBC) have been accelerating efforts to improve financial literacy and 
inclusion in the Kingdom with an ambitious campaign explaining the basics of 
sustainable borrowing and lending.

The campaign will include social and traditional media as well as targeted 
workshops for SMEs, female entrepreneurs and agriculture businesses to improve 
the quality of borrowing among traditionally 'underbanked' segments of the 
population.

"Our industry is in a state of almost constant evolution as we face the 
challenges of the pandemic as well as the opportunities of an increasingly 
diversified economy where digital adoption is changing the way everyone does 
business," says Dr. In Channy. "The finance sector is committed to ensuring 
this evolution continues, putting our customers at the centre of everything we 
do through improved protections and better financial education to help them 
withstand the global economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic," 
he adds.

SOURCE  Association of Banks in Cambodia

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   Caption: A microfinance loan officer visits a farmer in a rice field in 
Cambodia