Thrift banks seek special liquidity window with BSP

The Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB) will adopt various measures to cushion its members from the possible impact of the prevailing high interest rates and peso depreciation.

"The CTB members have participated in the adoption of measures that would allow us to have alternatives in case of need," CTB president Reynato Sarmiento, said in an interview with The STAR.

Sarmiento said they have asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to reactivate the special liquidity window from where banks can withdraw anytime if needed.

He said they have also supported the cap on lending rates of banks to mitigate the adverse impact of the rising interest rates on their operations.

CTB executive director Suzanne Felix, in a separate interview, said they are closely monitoring their members amidst reports of bank runs in the industry.

"We want to prepare for that in case there would be panic. We are asking our members to report to us any incidence that would affect the industry," Felix said.

Despite this, she said the thrift bank industry remains "okay". "We have been reviewing the status of our members and so far, everybody is doing good," she said.

She said considering what’s happening to the whole banking industry given the political issues and financial uncertainties, the thrift banks remain stable.

Felix explained that the facility they have asked the central bank to install for the moment is similar to that of the lending window opened by the BSP during the Y2K issue. "We asked CB to make available the facility patterned after the Y2K," she said.

"We don’t see the need for it right now. But just in case, we have to have this kind of facility," she said.

She said they are exploring the possibility of opening a rediscounting facility with the Land Bank of the Philippines. "Since most of our members are in the countryside, they need such facility in case of need," she said.

Meanwhile, Sarmiento said the CTB members have decided not to take any position regarding the present political scandal involving the President.

"We want to stay a political but our members have their individual rights to exercise whatever they want to believe," he said, after a general membership meeting Friday.

Sarmiento made this statement after the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) appealed for the speedy resolution of the current political turmoil.