“It’s time to study and lift it,” Lim told reporters in a chance interview this week.
The SEC stopped issuing new licenses during the tenure of Lim's predecessor in November 2021 amid a surge in complaints about abusive online lending practices.
Lim said the regulator aims to release draft rules as early as the first quarter of 2026.
“We want to lift the moratorium to enable bigger companies to come in,” he added.
Payments giant Visa estimates Philippine small businesses face a credit gap of over $200 billion, or nearly P12 trillion.
SEC wants higher capitalization requirements
One key rule under study is the minimum capitalization requirement of P1 million, with Lim saying regulators are looking at raising the threshold.
“It could be P5 [million], it could be P10 [million],” he said, adding this was still subject to review.
“They were so attracted to the high EIR [effective interest rates] so they were aggressive lending their little money and when you make a mistake they resort to abusive [collection] practices,” he explained.
Lending rates capped
In recent years, the SEC intensified its enforcement drive against abusive lenders, stripping firms such as EasyPeso and Magic Peso of their licenses for violations.
The SEC also implemented a cap on lending rates.
From as much as 15 percent monthly charges, the corporate regulator cut rates down to 6 percent interest and a 12 percent EIR cap for small consumer loans.
The SEC has registered 117 online lending platforms as of December last year, data from the regulator showed.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
