BSP: No proof of hacking in bank glitch

MANILA, Philippines - There is no evidence of hacking in the erroneous posting of transactions that took place at the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) two weeks ago, an official of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday.

“We have inquired into what happened, and the preliminary result of our investigation is that this is not a case of hacking,” Melchor Labasan, who heads the BSP’s core information technology group, told the House committee on banks chaired by Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone.

“We have looked at BPI’s IT security system and there is no indication or evidence that it was hacked,” he said.

He said what happened at BPI did not at all affect the banking industry. “This was just an isolated case,” he added.

BPI officers led by president and chief executive officer Cesar Consing said the wrong posting of transactions “was the result of human error.”

“It was our mistake and we are doing everything and taking all necessary measures to prevent it from happening again. This was the first time it happened in the 166-year life of the bank,” he said.

He said the wrong postings affected 1.5 million of BPI’s eight million customers.

Consing promised that BPI would fully cooperate with BSP and other relevant state agencies that are looking into what happened.

He also admitted that a number of clients “mistakenly” withdrew the money that was added to their accounts.

“In all, P46 million was withdrawn. We are working with these clients, who have committed to return the money,” he said.

He said the bank has P1.3 trillion in deposits.

Rep. Harry Roque of party-list group Kabayan told his colleagues that his account showed a P10,000 withdrawal he did not make.

“But my bank manager informed me just now that the P10,000 has been returned to my account,” he said.

Ramon Jocson, the ranking BPI officer in charge of the bank’s IT system, said they spent P5.3 billion in 2016 for upgrades.