Bank deposits post 2-digit growth in January

MANILA, Philippines – Bank deposits recorded a double-digit growth in January, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

The BSP reported over the weekend savings and demand deposits grew 11.3 percent to P7.3 billion in January from P6.6 trillion in the same month last year.

“The growth in deposits outpaced the 8.9 percent growth posted in the previous quarter,” the BSP said.

Statistics showed demand deposits expanded 17.4 percent followed by savings deposits with a 13.7 percent growth.

Likewise, foreign currency deposits owned by residents grew 12.5 percent, while time deposits rose 1.5 percent.

The strong growth in deposits was registered a month before the money laundering scandal rocked the country’s financial system in February.

About $81 million worth of funds stolen from the account of Bangladesh Bank at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York entered the country and was coursed through fictitious accounts at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).

The BSP, the Antil Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee are now conducting separate investigations on the money laundering scandal.

Likewise, the voters’ list of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) containing personal information such as birth dates, address, mothers’ name, among others was leaked to the public compromising the accounts of depositors.

This prompted BSP deputy governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. to issue Memorandum Order M – 2016 – 005 enjoining BSP supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) to revisit their know-your-customer (KYC) practices in light of the unauthorized disclosure of voter’s registration records.

Espenilla also directed banks to exercise extra vigilance against possible misuse of the information in the voters’ registration records.

“BSFIs should take extra precaution in ensuring the authenticity of clients’ identity as the leaked information may be used as a starting point for identity theft and unauthorized financial transactions,” Espenilla said.

As a matter of practice, most BSFIs require existing clients, particularly those that conduct financial transactions over the phone, to provide additional information that are mutually known only between the bank and the customer, such as account numbers, recent transactions, or other relevant information.

In addition, Espenilla said BSFIs conduct selective cross-checks with other agencies/companies as part of their due diligence procedures for new clients.

The bank regulator also encouraged account holders to regularly monitor the activity on their accounts and to immediately report any suspicious transactions to their banks.