BSP enforces stricter security rules for banks

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved stricter rules for the physical security of banks to ensure the safety of depositors’ funds.

While bank robberies in the country are few and far between, the ones that do happen always turn into high-profile cases, BSP Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. said.

Under the new rules approved by the regulator, banks with over 10 branches will have to appoint dedicated “chief security officers” who will implement safety measures meant to protect depositors’ money from criminals.

“Bank robberies don’t happen that often, but it’s always high profile when it does,” Espenilla told reporters.

Companies have been required to have chief security officers since 2008.

Large banks are required to have dedicated security experts, while smaller companies can have one of its senior executives serving as a security officer on concurrent capacity.

The Bangko Sentral changed the distinction between small and large banks, basing it now on the size of a lender’s physical network, according to the central bank official.

Under the old rules, banks with assets of under P100 million need not have a dedicated security officer.

“They are required to have a security policy that will define how a bank intends to defend branches from robbery and other types of crime,” he said.

The same rule would apply to foreign banks, most of which have under 10 branches in the Philippines.

Among the duties of a chief security officer are determining the number of security guards a bank needs for its entire operation and what type of surveillance equipment to install inside the branches.

A chief security officer must also recommend the security agencies and other related personnel a bank should hire to protect itself from criminals.

“At the end of the day, it will be the management’s decision to choose,” Espenilla said.

The Philippines has seen just a handful of bank robberies in the past five years.

The bloodiest one was in May 2008, when armed men killed nine people while robbing a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. in Cabuyao, Laguna.