BSP eases banks’ forex trading rules

In another response to the coronavirus pandemic, the central bank on Friday said it was providing additional relief measures for the foreign exchange market to facilitate financial transactions during the ongoing Luzon-wide lockdown period.

In a statement, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said the policy-making Monetary Board approved new operational guidelines for transactions in the peso-dollar market in line with the declaration of “community quarantine” by the Office of the President.

“These measures will facilitate the access to foreign exchange resources of the banking system by the public to finance legitimate transactions,” the central bank chief said.

The approved measures mainly involve the electronic submission of documents for applications for approval or registration of foreign currency loans; borrowings or investments, and the sale of foreign exchange by authorized agent banks or forex corporations.

The relaxed rules also allow the use of e-signatures or digital signatures for documents originally required to be submitted in hardcopy or those requiring signatures; allowing the submission of documents without the e-signatures, digital signatures or the required notarization and the nonimposition of monetary penalties for delayed submission of reports.

The central bank said it has also decided to relax the deadline or prescriptive periods for the submission of certain documents, information or applications covering foreign currency loans, borrowings or investments.

It also announced a waiver of applicable processing fees for applications covering private sector foreign currency loans or borrowings with foreign currency obligations due within the period covered by the relaxed rules as well as the issuance of BSP documents by the central bank’s International Operations Department in electronic form.

“The measures shall be effective for the duration of the declaration of ‘community quarantine’ by the Office of the President, or as may be extended by the BSP,” Diokno said.

The governor emphasized that, notwithstanding these relief measures on foreign exchange rules, banks are expected to continue to adopt safe and sound practices in their operations.

The implementing circular will take effect immediately.

This is the latest measure imposed by the central bank in response to the COVID-19 outbreak that is threatening to bring the global economy to a halt, including that of the Philippines, which is expected to record its slowest economic growth in a decade over the next few quarters.

Earlier, the BSP also unveiled a relief package that allows banks to liberally tap the central bank’s rediscounting facilities, which will translate to relaxed loan repayment schemes for the borrower-clients of these financial institutions. INQ