STA. RITA, Pampanga--Some 200 depositors of the distressed Rural Bank of Sta. Rita here are taking matters into their own hands.

On Monday, they scheduled a meeting for Jan. 17 at the town's public plaza to discuss the rehabilitation of the RBSR and elect a set of officers.

Beth Santos, this town's retired budget officer and one of the bank's depositors, said some investors were interested in reviving the 42-year-old RBSR.

She said she did not know the people or groups behind the plan.

The depositors also planned to discuss how, in the event of actual closure, they could claim insurance deposits, she said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered RSBR closed a few weeks after the bank went on a holiday on Dec. 19 to stop what it claimed were panic withdrawals on the heels of the closure of 15 other rural banks in various parts of the country.

A team from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., led by deputy receiver Leo Cabradilla, could not find the owner, Dr. Victoriano De Castro, daughter Mary Anne Naguit and other bank executives when the team tried to give them the official notice of closure and receivership.

Cabradilla said his team was tasked to take over the bank and turn this over to another PDIC team that would process the claims of depositors.

All RBSR employees would be placed under the supervision of the PDIC, said Cabradilla.

He said the bank could continue operations if new investors would infuse fresh capital. Otherwise, it would be permanently closed, said Cabradilla.

The BSP assured that "with the exception of these two banks, the rural banking sector in Pampanga remains strong and healthy."

The 20 other rural banks in Pampanga have a combined asset base of more than P8 billion and deposit base of more than P6 billion, the BSP said.

"As a whole, these rural banks have consistently recorded healthy double-digit growth rates in deposits received and loans granted between December 2007 and September 2008," the BSP said.

"[The] consolidated capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of the present 20 Pampanga-based rural banks is 19.9 percent, nearly double the 10 percent minimum required by the Bangko Sentral [ng Pilipinas] and more than twice the international standard of 8 percent," it said.

It said CAR or the ratio of a bank's capital to its risk "reflects a bank's ability to absorb losses."

The BSP also asked the public to "avoid making sweeping judgment on the condition of individual banks or to pass on baseless rumors."