The Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) was founded in 1955 and has since grown into a network of over 600 rural bank members nationwide. The Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (MABS) Program was launched in 1997 through which RBAP has assisted over 100 rural banks with more than 1,000 branches and other bank offices to develop microfinance products and services. Among these financial services are microloans, micro-deposits, remittances, mobile phone banking services and microinsurance. The Rural Bankers Development Foundation, Inc. (RBRDFI), the Association's technical support and training arm, is leading the Association's new microinsurance initiative.