THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it is currently working with various sectors of the government toward the swift passage of amendments to the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) charter.
In a briefing on Wednesday, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the proposed amendments to the PDIC Charter are expected to improve coordination between the bank regulator, and the deposit insurer and bank receiver. This is seen to strengthen supervision of banks and support financial stability.
As such, the BSP is working alongside Congress, the Department of Finance, and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) to expedite the passage.
In particular, Diokno said the BSP is confident that the proposed amendments will further enhance PDIC’s capacity to promote and safeguard the interests of the depositing public, and effectively perform its mandate as deposit insurer and liquidator of banks.
Diokno cited four important provisions that are crucial inclusions in the amendments.
First, the governor said the authority should be granted to the PDIC Board to raise the maximum deposit insurance coverage to an amount indexed to inflation or in consideration of other economic factors.
“We believe that this will give PDIC the flexibility to implement its mandate as the country’s deposit insurer. More importantly, this will provide additional safeguard to the depositing public,” the governor said.
Second, the governor calls for changes in PDIC’s organizational structure and the attachment of PDIC to BSP.
Currently, PDIC is attached to the Department of Finance (DOF).
Third, the amendment should include the consolidation of certain powers of the PDIC to BSP.
“This will prevent overlapping functions that should be with BSP as the primary regulator of banks,” Diokno said.
And fourth, amendments that aim to strengthen and expand certain powers of PDIC should be included, particularly wider deposit insurance coverage to include Islamic banks and non-bank BSFIs offering deposit products, authority to extend financial assistance to Islamic banks, and designation of PDIC as receiver of closed non-bank BSP-supervised financial institutions.
Currently, there are proposed measures on the PDIC Charter amendments in both houses of Congress. In the House of Representatives, House Bill 8818 was approved on third and final reading on March 25, 2021.
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 2365 was filed last August 25 to substitute Senate Bill 2089 and 1260 and is scheduled for second reading in the plenary.