The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) approved the application of two lenders to provide Islamic banking services in the Philippines.
BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said in an interview the BSP approved the application of the two banks, including Maybank Philippines.
Fonacier said these banks would not be full Islamic banks, but would have Islamic banking window.
“When you say Islamic banking window, it could be a dedicated branch offering Islamic banking products and services,” Fonacier said.
The BSP has yet to identify the other bank.
Fonacier said the Islamic banking services of the two lenders were expected to be operational soon.
“Those two have been licensed, and I think they’ll soon be starting their operations,” Fonacier said.
Two Islamic banks are already operating in the county including CARD Bank Inc. and Amanah Islamic Bank.
Amanah Islamic Bank, a universal bank that became a subsidiary of Development Bank of the Philippines in 2008, is the first Islamic bank in the country established under Presidential Decree 264.
It is “authorized to perform and provide Islamic banking, financing and investment services pursuant to R.A. 6848, otherwise known as the Charter of the Al-Amanah Islamic Bank of the Philippines of 1990.”
CARD Bank is a microfinance-oriented rural bank established on Sept. 1, 1997 in San Pablo City, Laguna, with 54 branches and 329 micro-banking offices (MBO) nationwide and serving more than 900,000 clients across the country.
