The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has further eased foreign exchange rules to facilitate transactions of foreign banks that established presence in the country.
BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. told reporters that the BSP had approved amendments to the Manual of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions that were aligned with Republic Act No. 10641, which allowed the full entry of foreign banks.
Tetangco said the amended policies include the “inclusion of an express provision that the foreign exchange funding for permanently assigned capital of foreign bank branches must be inwardly remitted and converted to pesos at the exchange rate prevailing at the time of the remittance.”
The amended rules also revised the definitions of “unimpaired capital of a local bank,” “unimpaired capital of foreign bank branches,” as well as “unimpaired capital of foreign bank subsidiaries” under the Manual of Regulations for Banks, Tetangco said, without elaborating.
“The continuing review of foreign exchange regulations is consistent with the BSP’s commitment to maintain a safe and sound financial system, a stable forex market, and an appropriate monetary policy,” according to Tetangco.
So far, the BSP allowed nine Asian banks to fully operate in the country, namely: Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.; Singapore’s United Overseas Bank Ltd.; South Korea’s Shinhan Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, and Woori Bank; as well as Taiwan’s Cathay United Bank, First Commercial Bank, Hua Nan Bank, and Yuanta Commercial Bank Co. Ltd.
Separately, Tetangco said the BSP also came out with a new supervisory framework for pawnshops likewise aimed at liberalizing rules.
“There are number of measures that have been approved to make the registration of pawnshops easy. And if you are operating a network of pawnshops, you don’t need prior approval for each and every office—for as long as you have the basic license, you can put up offices without getting approval from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas but you have to inform the BSP,” Tetangco said.