Effects of Credit Surety Fund (CSF) Program on the Credit Availment and Financial and Economic Performance of Cooperatives in Laguna, 2025

Date

6-2025

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Christian Paul L. Fang

Committee Member

Geny F. Lapiña, Maria Angeles O. Catelo

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Abstract

This study assessed the effects of the Credit Surety Fund (CSF) program on cooperatives in Laguna. The CSF Program is a credit guarantee scheme (CGS) that aims to improve the creditworthiness, income, and net worth of cooperatives. It also fosters job creation and increases the level of knowledge of member cooperatives. However, throughout its 16 years of implementation, the reluctance of banks to provide credit to small businesses is still prevalent. Moreover, there are few to no studies focusing on its effect on cooperatives. Therefore, this study attempted to verify if the set objectives of the CSF program were achieved in terms of credit availment and financial and economic performance.

Primary data were obtained from 20 member- and 17 non-member cooperatives via personal and online interviews using pre-tested questionnaires. The treatment group was the member cooperatives of the Laguna and the City of Sta. Rosa CSF Cooperatives (LCSF and CSR CSF Cooperative, respectively). The control group was randomly selected non-member cooperatives in Laguna according to a set of criteria that made them identical to their member cooperative counterparts. This study described the CSF Program in Laguna using the results chain analysis, outlining its inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and expected impact. The level of satisfaction of guaranteed member cooperatives was also analyzed through a five-point Likert scale. Moreover, the availment of credit, financial performance, and economic performance of the cooperatives were compared using the Mann-Whitney Rank Sum Test.

The study revealed that there was no significant difference in the availment of credit in terms of loan amount, loan interest rate, and loan maturity between member and non-member cooperatives. Similarly, the financial performance of both groups showed no statistical difference. In economic performance, the investments of member cooperatives were significantly higher, with a p-value of 0.0094, than non-member cooperatives. Employment and the level of knowledge in credit, financial, and risk management showed no statistical difference between the treatment and control groups.

Based on the findings of the study, the following were recommended: (a) strengthen the CSF Program through a needs-based and inclusive approach; (b) require attendance of member cooperatives at seminar and training; (c) build more public trust and confidence; and (d) conduct future studies on the effects of the CSF Program on member-level data and on cooperatives in other municipalities; effect of CSF Program on transport cooperatives; and non-participation of cooperatives in the said program.

Language

English

LC Subject

Banks and banking, Cooperative, Credit--Management

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2025 A14 A73

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Document Type

Thesis

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