Banks told to provide details on deposit, loan rates

Bank clients will soon have access to more detailed information about deposit and borrowing rates to help them make better decisions with their finances, the central bank said yesterday.

In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the Monetary Board had approved “enhancements” to the required reports on interest rates on loans and deposits being submitted by universal and commercial banks.

The enhanced structure requires greater granularity on the data reported that were expected to contribute to enhanced monitoring and analysis of the bank regulator as well as provide the public with more information in making decisions.

“These will provide consumers with more valuable information to compare costs and evaluate their needs based on the best loans and deposit products available,” the BSP said.

“The enhanced structure of the report requires universal and commercial banks to disclose interest rates on actual loans granted and deposits generated classified as to product types, maturity period/terms and size (of deposits) as of a given reference period,” the BSP said.

The information from these reports provides analytical support for policy decisions as well as assessment of interest rate risk exposure of the industry. Data on bank interest rates on loans and deposits are published on the BSP website on a regular basis.

The BSP said the compilation and publication of bank interest rates on loans and deposits were aligned with the international best practice and were in support of its thrust to promote greater financial literacy, consumer protection and market transparency.

Universal and commercial banks were given a transitory period of one month which began Feb. 1, 2019, prior to the full implementation of the enhanced reporting requirements on March 1, 2019.