BSP shuts down Benguet bank

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has closed down Benguet-based Rural Bank of Buguias and placed it under the supervision of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC).

PDIC has started gathering, verifying, and validating all bank records after taking over the shuttered bank.

The Rural Bank of Buguias has 16,244 accounts with total deposit liabilities of P347.4 million. Total insured deposits amounted to P303.1 million or 87.2 percent of total deposits.

PDIC assured depositors that all valid deposits will be paid up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000.

The state deposit insurer added that depositors with valid deposit accounts with balances of P100,000 and below will be eligible for early payment and need not file deposit insurance claims, except when they have outstanding obligations with Rural Bank of Buguias or acted as co-makers of these obligations.

PDIC targets to start mailing payments to these depositors at their addresses recorded in the bank by the second week of November while the claims for those required to file deposit insurance claims would be settled by the third week of November.

A depositors-borrowers forum would be held from Nov. 6 to 9 to allow depositors to verify with PDIC representatives if they are eligible for early payment. Those not eligible would be informed of the requirements and procedures for filing deposit insurance claims.

The head office of the six-unit rural bank is located in Abatan, Buguias, Benguet. Its branches are in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur; Kabayan and La Trinidad towns in Benguet; and Bauko and Tadian towns in the Mt. Province.