The World Bank has approved a USD600m loan to support the Philippines’ economic recovery and efforts to make its financial sector more resilient. The bank said the funds will be channeled towards strengthening the country's financial sector stability, expanding financial inclusion, and improving disaster risk finance. Ndiamé Diop, World Bank country director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, said financial inclusion can be a key enabler to speed up poverty reduction and strengthen recovery from the pandemic. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas aims to have 70% of Filipino adults to be bank account holders by this year. The World Bank said the loan also aims to develop a catastrophe insurance market in the Philippines to prevent people from falling into poverty following natural disasters.