BSP works with Congress, DOF and PDIC FOR swift passage of amended PDIC Charter

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is proactively coordinating with Congress, the Department of Finance, and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) for the swift passage of amendments to the PDIC Charter.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said that 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.

To further enhance coordination between the two government agencies, the BSP supports changes in PDIC’s organizational structure, including the designation of the BSP Governor as ex-officio PDIC Board chairman; the attachment of PDIC to BSP; and the consolidation of certain PDIC powers within the BSP to prevent overlapping functions.

The BSP is also backing the grant of authority to PDIC to raise the maximum deposit insurance coverage to an amount indexed to inflation or in consideration of other economic factors, as well as certain expanded powers for PDIC. These powers include broader deposit insurance coverage to include Islamic banks and non-bank BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) offering deposit products; authority to extend financial assistance to Islamic banks; and designation of PDIC as receiver of closed non-banks BSFIs.

Currently, there are proposed measures on the PDIC Charter amendments at both houses of Congress. In the House of Representatives, House Bill No. 8818 was approved on third and final reading on 25 March 2021.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill No. 2365 was filed last August 25 to substitute Senate Bill Nos. 2089 and 1260 and is scheduled for second reading in the plenary.