Expanded 1-year partnership extends beyond lending into cash management and FX, featuring an innovative over-collateralized consumer loan security registered via the Philippines’ Personal Property Security Registry (PPSR).
Billease, one of the Philippines’ leading consumer finance and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platforms, today announced it has doubled its credit facility with Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) to ₱1 billion. The expansion comes one year after the two institutions initiated their lending relationship with an initial ₱500 million facility.
The expanded partnership now extends beyond term lending into corporate cash management, savings (CASA), and foreign exchange (FX) services, marking a deepening, multi-product relationship between a top-tier Philippine universal bank and a profitable, fast-growing local fintech leader.
A Blueprint for Fintech Asset Securitization in the Philippines
The facility stands out for its sophisticated structure. It is among the first in the Philippines to utilize the Personal Property Security Registry (PPSR) the centralized movable-asset registry launched by the Land Registration Authority under the Personal Property Security Act to create a registered, perfected security interest over Billease’s consumer loan receivables.
The structure provides RCBC with an enforceable, first-ranking claim over a granular, high-quality pool of assets. This serves as a replicable template for how Philippine commercial banks can lend against fintech receivables with institutional-grade confidence.
The comprehensive security package is designed to provide the lender with robust, transparent downside protection throughout the life of the facility, featuring:
- Registered and perfected security interests via the PPSR
- Over-collateralized loan-to-value structures
- Dynamic, periodic refreshing of the collateral asset pool
- A clearly defined payment waterfall mechanism
“Doubling our facility with RCBC within a year and broadening it well beyond lending into cash management and FX reflects the kind of confidence that only comes from a track record both sides can underwrite,” said Garret Go, CFO of Billease. “The strongest funding relationships are built on transparency and performance, not promises, and RCBC has been an excellent partner in structuring something new for this market.”
Sustained Profitability and a Strong Balance Sheet
The expanded facility follows a landmark fiscal year for Billease. On an audited consolidated basis, Billease grew FY2025 revenue by more than 80% to ₱8.7 billion and delivered a net profit of ₱750 million. This marks the company’s third consecutive year of profitability—a rare milestone in the global BNPL sector where many peers face persistent bottom-line pressures.
Key financial highlights from the period include:
- Loan Portfolio: Grown by more than 75% to approximately ₱11.3 billion.
- Total Assets: Reached ₱13.3 billion.
- User Acquisition: Onboarding more than 150,000 new customers monthly.
- Capital Health: As of December 31, 2025, Billease held total equity of approximately ₱5.6 billion against total borrowings of ₱6.7 billion. A conservative debt-to-equity ratio of roughly 1x leaves significant headroom for additional, well-secured debt.
Founder-Led Continuity Paired with Institutional Governance
Billease remains founder-led, with co-founders Georg Steiger, Huyen Nguyen, and Ritche Weekun continuing to direct operations and retaining a majority stake.
The company’s governance framework was further strengthened following its 2024 Series C round a ₱4.3 billion investment led by TPG’s The Rise Fund with participation from existing investor Burda Principal Investments. The Billease Board of Directors is chaired by Jose Isidro “Lito” Camacho, former Secretary of Finance of the Philippines. In 2025, the board welcomed Atul Malik, a TPG senior advisor and veteran banker whose three decades in Asian financial services include nearly 20 years at Citibank, regional leadership at Deutsche Bank, and a chief executive role at a leading Vietnamese bank.
“We don’t view 2025 as a peak, we view it as evidence that the platform works, and that there is significant underlying demand for affordable, well-structured credit in this country,” added Georg Steiger, CEO and Co-Founder of Billease. “The business scales without compromising on underwriting standards. Facilities like this one let us keep funding that growth locally, on improving terms, and the registry-backed, over-collateralized structure we built with RCBC is one we believe more Philippine banks can use.”
The RCBC facility advances Billease’s core strategy of increasingly funding its growth through local banking partners, reducing its historical reliance on offshore debt, and optimizing its overall cost of capital. The move complements Billease’s strategic entry into regulated banking following its recent acquisition of a rural bank, which is expected to expand the platform’s deposit-taking capabilities and product suite.
“This expanded partnership reflects RCBC’s confidence in Billease’s performance and in the quality of its underwriting,” said Elizabeth Coronel, Institutional Banking Group Head of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation. “By anchoring the facility in a registered, over-collateralized security through the Personal Property Security Registry, we have built a transparent, well-protected structure that we believe can serve as a model for how Philippine banks support responsible, fast-growing fintech lenders.”
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