The  Philippine government is seeking a $ 600 million loan from the World Bank (WB) to support reforms that would help achieve a "resilient, inclusive and sustainable financial sector."

Documents from the World Bank website showed the loan aims to boost the Philippine government's efforts to strengthen the financial sector's resilience, expand financial inclusion for individuals and firms, and support climate, disaster risk, and sustainable finance.

"This operation builds on the reform agenda initiated under the first financial sector development policy loan and focuses on the continuity of reform implementation that spans the recent political transition," the multilateral lender said.

In 2021, the World Bank approved a $ 400 million loan to help the Philippine financial sector's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the programs supported by the second loan are the expansion of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.'s deposit insurance coverage; strengthening of the prudential supervision of banks and conglomerates, as well as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) capacity to address banking risks at an early stage.

The loan also supports expanding digital financial services through digital banks, developing a financial consumer protection program, and boosting the credit reporting ecosystem.

The Department of Finance will be the program's main implementing agency.