BSP eases rules for typhoon survivors

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will temporarily relax its strict identification (ID) and documentary rules to make it easier for residents of areas affected by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” to access the money they have in local banks.

BSP Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said the Monetary Board approved the relaxation of ID requirements under the know-your-customer (KYC) rules that local banks are required to follow.

“We recognize that IDs may have been lost during the storm, particularly in the severely affected areas,” Espenilla told reporters last Friday.

“We will relax ID requirements for a temporary period of time. This is a practical measure,” he said.

Under existing KYC rules, bank customers are required to produce two valid government IDs before opening bank accounts.  If a client’s bank book or ATM card is lost, these same documents have to be presented to the bank before deposits can be accessed.

Under the temporary rules, Espenilla said the BSP would leave it up to banks to figure out their own way to identify their own clients. In lieu of government IDs, banks may choose to ask for school or office IDs, among others, from their clients.

Espenilla said banks may also choose to consult their own records, which may have photos of their clients, to verify the identity of depositors who claim to have lost their bank documents.

He said the goal of the temporary relaxation, which is the first of several other extraordinary relief measures the BSP plans to come out with, was to help the public access their money. These funds can then be used to finance the reconstruction of the homes they may have lost in the storm, helping revive the economies of the affected areas.

“Banks are crucial to trade and commerce, which generates jobs and livelihood and facilitates the efficient flow of goods and services,” Espenilla said. “It is encouraging to note that banking activity has at least resumed even in a hard-hit city like Tacloban.”

BSP data showed that of the 44 bank branches and offices in Tacloban, five are already up and running. Five automated teller machines (ATM) are also back online out of 65 in Tacloban before Yolanda hit.