JD Yap named co-chair of SME Finance Forum’s East Asia-Pacific chapter as Security Bank pushes for greater access to funding for MSMEs.
Security Bank is gaining a bigger voice in the regional push to unlock financing opportunities for small businesses after Chief Financial Officer JD Yap was named one of four co-chairs of the newly launched East Asia and Pacific Regional Chapter of the SME Finance Forum.
The appointment puts Yap—and the Philippines—at the center of regional discussions on how banks, financial technology companies and other institutions can help micro, small and medium enterprises gain better access to financing and navigate an increasingly digital economy.
The SME Finance Forum is a global network established by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group.
For Security Bank, Yap’s appointment also underscores its growing focus on entrepreneurs and MSMEs, a sector widely seen as critical to economic growth and job creation.
Before becoming Security Bank’s CFO, Yap headed the bank’s Business Banking Segment, where he helped strengthen its approach to serving small and growing businesses.
The bank offers MSMEs financing, cash management and digital banking services designed to support companies from startup and expansion to more complex stages of growth.
“MSMEs are the backbone of economies across the region, and supporting entrepreneurs has long been a priority for Security Bank,” Yap said.
“This role provides an opportunity to bring Philippine perspectives to the table, learn from peers across East Asia and the Pacific, and help advance practical solutions that enable small businesses to grow and innovate.”
PH voice in regional SME push
Yap will share leadership of the regional chapter with Regzedmaa Bayar of Mongolia’s Khan Bank; Sumit Khurana, Mastercard senior vice president for SME Business in Asia Pacific; and Shrikant Patil, CEO and managing director of Singapore-based risk intelligence platform DigiAlly.
The four co-chairs are expected to help shape the chapter’s priorities while encouraging closer collaboration among financial institutions, technology providers and other organizations involved in SME development.
Among the areas expected to receive greater attention are digital finance, supply chain finance and sustainable finance, as businesses across East Asia and the Pacific confront changing customer behavior, tighter funding conditions and accelerating technological shifts.
For Security Bank, Yap’s new regional role could provide another avenue for bringing international practices and innovations closer to Filipino entrepreneurs while ensuring the challenges faced by Philippine MSMEs are represented in wider policy and industry discussions.
And for local small businesses looking for more ways to fund their next stage of growth, having a Philippine banking executive at the regional table could prove increasingly significant.
