To respond to contemporary challenges for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to remain effective in its conduct of monetary policy and supervision of entities within the financial system, the Senate passed on third and final reading a bill increasing its capitalization from P50 billion to P200 billion.
Once signed into law, Senator “Chiz” Escudero said the payment of the increase in the capitalization shall be funded through the retention of declared dividends and taxes due to the national government and the adequacy of the P200-billion capitalization shall be subject to review every five years, to be adjusted upon joint recommendation by the secretaries of finance and budget and management as well as the Monetary Board.
Aside from providing policy directions in the areas of banking and credit, the bill calls for the BSP to have supervision over the operations of banks and exercise such regulatory and examination powers over quasi-banking operations.
“The bill proposes to strengthen the tools which the BSP exercises in performing its mandates, supplement the mechanism in protecting savings of depositors and in ensuring the smooth flow of transactions in the financial system as well as to enhance the corporate viability of the BSP,” Escudero said after the approval of Senate Bill 1297 titled “An Act Amending RA 7653, otherwise known as “The New Central Bank Act.”