BTR, BSP ink pact for single treasury account

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Treasury yesterday inked an agreement with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and 34 accredited banks, laying down the framework for the implementation of the treasury single account (TSA) beginning January next year.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the government expects savings of a minimum P1.5 billion from an integrated financial management system.

A TSA is a vital tool for consolidating and managing government’s cash resources, thus minimizing borrowing costs.  Establishing a unified structure of government bank accounts via a TSA will solve the fragmented system for handling government receipts and payments.

The TSA will be maintained at the BSP being the banker of the national government for all revenue collections  of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs and for government expenditure.

The MOA defines the obligations of both parties and sets the framework in determining the rate of interest the TSA will receive.

“The event is a significant milestone in the government’s efforts to improve public financial management,” Purisima said.  

Purisima said the new system shall increase operational efficiency  of implementing agencies while minimizing cost of treasury operations.

The TSA, he said,  will also allow the government to keep daily cash balances of government at  appropriate levels.