Depositors with denied claims may seek reconsideration, says PDIC

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) is now allowing bank depositors to seek reconsideration of their insurance claims denied by the state-run deposit insurer.

PDIC has issued Regulatory Issuance 2011-03 providing a mechanism wherein depositors of closed banks could seek reconsideration from the decision of the PDIC to deny deposit insurance claims.

Under the new rules and regulations, all requests for reconsideration should be filed within 60 days from receipt of the notice of denial of the claim and should be addressed to the sector head of the Deposit Insurance Sector of the PDIC.

“PDIC will no longer entertain requests for reconsideration filed after the lapse of the 60-day period from the receipt of notice of denial,” PDIC said.

Depositors seeking reconsideration should file the prescribed forms in writing and verified under oath accompanied by the original or certified true copies of the documents that would support the deposits made in the bank such as, but not limited to, negotiated checks, copies of validated deposit slips for deposits made in the closed bank or those directly made to its depository bank, and official receipts.

Others include deposit agreements, bank statement or statement of accounts, or other documents evidencing receipt of funds by the closed bank other than the evidence of deposits.

“The supporting documents must be new evidence that were in existence prior to the closure of a bank and which have not been submitted to the PDIC at the time of the filing of the claims for deposit insurance,” the PDIC said.

It added that the request should also contain a statement authorizing the PDIC and its officers, employees or agents to examine, inspect or inquire into any or all of bank deposit records in any bank relative to the claim for deposit insurance in order to check the authenticity and veracity of documents submitted and allegations made in support of the request.

The state-run insurance insurance depositor also requires depositors seeking reconsideration to sign a waiver from Republic Act 1405 also known as the Law on Secrecy of Bank Deposits to enable PDIC to readily verify and authenticate the representations and submissions of the depositor.

PDIC has 120 days from receipt of the letter-request for reconsideration to decide on the request.

The buffer fund of PDIC stood at a comfortable level of P65.2 billion as of end-March this year and is sufficient to cover 4.5 percent of the P1.4 trillion total insured deposits.

PDIC president Valentin Araneta earlier reported that total bank deposits posted a healthy growth of 8.9 percent or P411 billion to P5.003 trillion comprising of 37.1 million accounts in the first quarter of the year.

Araneta said about 97 percent of the total accounts with deposits worth P884.86 billion or 17.7 percent of the total deposits are fully covered up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage (MDIC) of P500,000

He pointed out that three percent of the total accounts with deposits amounting to P4.118 trillion or 82.3 percent of the total deposits are partially insured.

According to PDIC, deposits that are P15,000 and below comprise 75.4 percent of total deposits in terms of number of accounts, but is only one percent of total deposits in terms of amount. 

On the other end of the deposit range, deposits over P2 million are only 0.8 percent of total deposits in terms of total accounts but takes up 67.3 percent of deposits in terms of amount.

Araneta, who assumed office last June 15 replacing former PDIC president Jose Nograles, reported that deposits in universal and commercial banks continued to grow at 8.9 percent, accounting for 88.2 percent of total deposits.

On the other hand, deposits in thrift banks posted a double-digit growth of 10 percent for a 9.3 percent share while deposits in rural banks increased by 6.2 percent for a share of 2.48 percent.

Private corporations cornered a share of 29.7 percent of the total deposits while government deposits accounted for 11 percent.