Deposit insurance cover hike pushed

MANILA, Philippines — Bank deposits will be insured for up to P1 million per bank per depositor — double the state-mandated protection cover of P500,000 — under a new bill filed at the House of Representatives.

Through House Bill No. 5812, Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. is proposing to raise the maximum insurance protection of the country’s 63 million bank depositors from P500,000 to P1,000,000 per depositor per bank.

“We have to restore the full value of protection of the maximum deposit insurance coverage at today’s prices, if we want to encourage Filipinos to continue to keep their money in banks,” the lawmaker said in a statement.

He said the “full value of protection” through the state-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) “has been eroded considerably” by the general increase in prices over the last 10 years.

Campos noted the growing number of Filipino middle-class families, including those with breadwinners abroad, who now had more than P1 million in liquid assets that could be stored in banks.

“We are positive that our bill, once enacted, will also help reinforce public confidence in the banking system that plays an indispensable role in driving national economic growth,” he said.

Since 2017, tens of thousands of depositors have been affected by the collapse and closure of 41 banks, mostly rural lenders, according to PDIC.