BSP shuts down Tarlac-based rural bank

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has placed the Tarlac-based First Provincial Bank Inc. (A Rural Bank) under the receivership of the state-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC).

PDIC said in a statement that it took over First Provincial Rural Bank last April 20 by virtue of the BSP Monetary Board Resolution 592 issued last April 19.

First Provincial Bank is a four-unit bank with head office located along McArhur Highway cor. Juan Luna St. in Tarlac City.

It has three branches including one in Mabalacat, Pampanga; Paniqui, Tarlac; and La Trinidad, Benguet.

Latest available records showed that the bank had 4,233 accounts with total deposit liabilities of P190.5 million as of June 30 last year.

According to the latest General Information Sheet filed by the First Provincial Bank with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the bank is owned by Blesilo Florido Buan, Florido Buan, and Romina Canilao.

In a statement, PDIC said that upon takeover, all bank records shall be gathered, verified and validated. The state deposit insurer assured depositors that all valid deposits shall be paid up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000.

PDIC said that depositors with valid accounts with balances of P10,000 and below, who have no outstanding obligations with First Provincial Bank and who have updated their addresses with the bank in the past year, need not file deposit insurance claims. PDIC targets to start mailing payments to these depositors to the last known addresses recorded in the bank by last week of May 2012.

Depositors whose accounts have balances of more than P10,000 and have outstanding obligations should file their deposit insurance claims. The claims settlement operations will be conducted at the bank premises by third week of June 2012.

Depositors’ forums would also be conducted for the head office and branches on April 24 to inform depositors of the requirements and procedures for filing deposit insurance claims.

According to PDIC, depositors who have balances of P10,000 and below but whose addresses in the bank records may not be updated or are incomplete would be given the chance to update their addresses.