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Friday, March 29, 2024

Typhoon victims get bank relief

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The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has approved relief measures to help banks and borrowers in areas affected by typhoon Lando to settle their debt in a longer period.

Bangko Sentral said the regulatory and rediscounting relief measures would be extended to banks and non-bank financial institutions with quasi-banking functions in areas heavily hit by the recent typhoon.

A report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council identified the affected provinces as Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan in Region 1; Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino in Region 2; Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales in Region 3.

Also included are Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Rizal in Region 4-A; Camarines Norte and Catanduanes in Region 5; and Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province in Cordillera Administrative Region.

The Monetary Board, the policy-making body of Bangko Sentral, said for thrift, rural, cooperative banks and NBQBs in the affected areas, it approved the exclusion of outstanding loans of borrowers from the computation of past due ratios provided these are restructured or given relief.

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The 5-percent general loan loss provision was also reduced to 1 percent for restructured loans of borrowers in affected areas.

Other relief measures include the non-imposition of penalties on banks’ legal reserves deficiencies; moratorium on monthly payments due to Bangko Sentral for banks with ongoing rehabilitation programs; non-imposition of monetary penalties for delays in the submission of supervisory reports; and, subject to BSP approval, booking of allowance for probable losses on a staggered basis over a maximum period of five years.

All banks are allowed to provide financial assistance to their officers and employees who were affected by the calamity including those assistance that may not be within the scope of the existing BSP-approved fringe benefit program.

Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. and the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines agreed to revive the expired Strengthening Program for Cooperative Banks Plus to improve the local banking system.

The program will be available for one year from Sept. 30, 2015 until Sept. 30, 2016. This will be subject to the same terms and conditions of the existing program, unless otherwise jointly amended by the three agencies.

Based on the arrangement, the eligible strategic third-party investors and eligible cooperative banks should submit to the SPCB lane a joint letter, separately addressed to the BSP, PDIC and LandBank, indicating their intention to merge or consolidate, or enter into a purchase of assets and assumption of liabilities or acquisition of control under the SPCB Plus, together with all the documentary requirements.

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