PDIC closes 6 rural banks

MANILA, Philippines - Six rural banks have been padlocked as of the first quarter, up from four last year, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) said.

These banks were the Capitol Bank of Cavite in January, Rural Bank of Gainza (Camarines Sur), Rural Bank of Majayjay (Laguna) in February and Rural Bank of Buenavista (Agusan del Norte), La Consolacion Rural Bank (Laguna) and Rural of Kinogitan (Misamis Oriental) in March.

The lenders were put under receivership by the PDIC after they were closed down by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), majority due to insolvency. The state deposit insurer has since service depositor claims.

“The amount that we have paid increased 4.74 percent in terms of filed and eligible to be paid automatically,” Sandra Diaz, senior vice-president for deposit insurance sector, told reporters.

A total of 18,508 accounts were qualified as insured, meaning their amounts fall within the P500,000 maximum deposit insurance per each depositor by law. On an aggregate basis, these accounts contained P520.81 million.

Of the total, 12,428 accounts, which have deposits worth P15,000 and below, were already paid by the PDIC through mail. These accounts had combined value of P18.81 million.

Above P15,000, those already paid reached 2,619 accounts with a total amount of P410.29 million, PDIC data showed.

In all, 15,047 accounts, representing 81 percent of the total insured deposits, were already paid. These accounts hold P429.10 million in money.

Rural lenders have been prone to closures due to their small assets that do not match up the risk they take. In 2012, 22 of closed banks were based on the country-side, figures showed.

It is for this reason that PDIC and BSP came up with the Strengthening Program for Rural Banks (SPRB) Plus, a P50-billion undertaking meant to encourage bank mergers and acquisition by offering perks such as branching licenses.

As of the first quarter, a total of 23 application involving 42 banks have already been received under the program, said Imelda Singzon, PDIC executive vice-president for examination and resolution sector.

“Nine applications have already been approved,” she said, declining to name the banks involved for confidentiality reasons.