Zamboanga banks get relief

MANILA, Philippines—The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is providing regulatory relief to banks in Zamboanga that may have been affected by recent clashes between the military and secessionist rebels.

In a resolution on Sept. 19, the BSP said the Monetary Board would relax some of its rules for banks in Zamboanga, many of which have been closed since the clash started on Sept. 9.

In particular, the BSP said it would allow the “exclusion of loans of borrowers in the affected areas, which should have been classified as past due loans, from the computation of (the banks) past-due loan ratio.”

This exemption would be allowed “provided that the banks maintain appropriate records on the said loan transactions.” The BSP also ordered banks to pass on the regulatory relief to borrowers, which means late payment fines should be waived.

The BSP said it would also waive monetary penalties for the delayed submission of all supervisory reports of banks to the BSP. Reports that were due starting Sept. 9 should be submitted on Nov. 8.

The BSP regularly gives some leeway in its regulations during extraordinary situations that may affect the operations of local banks. Last month, the BSP approved a list of relief measures for thrift, rural, and cooperative banks that were affected by recent storms.

These included waiver of penalties for reserve deficiencies of branches in affected areas and a moratorium on monthly payments to the BSP for banks undergoing rehabilitation.

Subject to the approval of the BSP, small banks were also be allowed to book probable losses from loans of borrowers in affected areas on a staggered basis over a maximum of five years.—Paolo G. Montecillo