The sluggish movement in the pension fund’s lending is apparently amid the traditional complaint against lack of budget for economic programs. The program would have been SSS’s contribution to the national government’s poverty reduction thrust.

Since SSS introduced the MSME lending program in the second semester of 2007 as part of the pension fund’s fiftieth anniversary celebration, SSS has released a total of P8.6 million from the fund including those for Cereal Food Corp. and Image Printing.

In-process for subsequent release is a total of P19.5 million including credits for Velprint Corp., Henry Ching, Hanson Industries and Philpack Commercial Corp.

Already around six months into its implementation, the three-year program should have released already at least P150 million if one-sixth of the fund would have been used up.

A status report on the Golden 1-3-10 program indicated that one of the factors that could have contributed to the low availment of the SSS loan is SSS’s indirect implementation of the program. Borrowers are required to apply for the loan through SSS’s conduit banks such as the Philippine Business Bank, Planters Bank, and Asiatrust Bank.

Unfortunately, "banks are now awash with cash due and their costs of fund are quite lower." This is why private financial institutions (PFI) could have rather used their own funds in lending.