‘Glenda’ shuts down financial markets

Traffic less Ayala Avenue in Makati City at the height of Supertyphoon Glenda. EDWIN BACASMAS

Bank operations and financial markets ground to a halt Wednesday as Metro Manila took a direct hit from Typhoon “Glenda,” (international name: Rammasun) the first major storm to tear through the country this year.

The country’s top banks announced work suspensions although most automated teller machines (ATMs) remained operational in areas where power and phone connectivity was available. The central bank’s clearing operations were down due to the suspension of work in all government offices, forcing the closure of stocks, bonds and currency markets for the day.

“Standard procedures for unscheduled holiday and force majeure situations shall be observed and implemented upon the resumption of normal operations,” Philippine Dealing Systems Corp. (PDS) said in an advisory to market participants.

The PDS group operates the country’s government bond trading, foreign exchange and corporate bond markets, which rely on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) clearing system for transactions. Trading resumes today.

In separate advisories, the country’s top banks announced that all banks were closed yesterday.

Earlier yesterday, for instance, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said its branch employees would be given the choice to come to work, weather permitting. Individual branches would be opened if enough workers showed up at work. Several hours later, the company announced that its operations in Metro Manila were suspended due to the bad weather. Operations in areas under typhoon signal number 3 were also suspended.

“Personal and family safety are primary considerations,” the bank said in a statement.

Branches of BDO Unibank, the country’s top lender, in Metro Manila and nearby areas were also closed yesterday due to “severe conditions of winds and rains.” BDO’s sister firm China Bank’s branch operations were also suspended.

BDO said it would check on all ATMs and, if necessary, restore services to give depositors access to their money.

Branches of mid-tier Philippine Savings Bank in Metro Manila and central and southern Luzon were also closed yesterday.

Maybank Philippines, a unit of Malaysian giant Maybank Berhad, said all Luzon branches were closed. Branches in Visayas and Mindanao remained open.