BSP closes Ilocos bank

MANILA, Philippines - Another rural bank has been ordered closed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. said in a statement yesterday.

The Rural Bank of Magsingal (Ilocos Sur) Inc., a single-unit firm with its head office located in San Vicente, Magsingal, Ilocos Sur, was placed under the receivership of the PDIC on March 5.

The PDIC said latest available records on the bank showed it had 458 accounts with deposits amounting to P17.4 million as of end-2014. All of these deposits were insured, the state deposit insurer added.

“All bank records shall be gathered, verified and validated… All valid deposits shall be paid up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000,” the PDIC stressed.

Those with deposits of P50,000 and below do not need to file deposit insurance claims unless they have outstanding loans with the bank or they have not updated their addresses in the bank records.

The PDIC said it will start mailing payments for these depositors starting next week.

Depositors have until March 10 to update their addresses with PDIC representatives at the bank premises, the state deposit insurer said.

For those required to file deposit insurance claims, claims settlement operations will commence on the third week of March, the PDIC said.

A depositors-borrowers forum has been slated for March 12 so bank clients will be informed of the procedures for filing deposit insurance claims. The PDIC will be posting the time and venue of said forum at the bank premises and at its website, www.pdic.gov.ph.

The state deposit insurer added the schedule of the claims settlement operations and requirements for filing claims will be posted at the bank premises and at the PDIC website.

The Rural Bank of Magsingal is the second bank ordered closed this year following the Community Bank (Rural Bank of Alfonso, Inc.), which was ordered closed last month.