BSP orders closure of P’sinan rural bank

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has ordered the closure of the Rural Bank of Lingayen Inc. (Gulf Bank) in Pangasinan, the fifth bank shut down this year.

In a statement, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) said it took over as he receiver of Gulf Bank yesterday.

The bank, a five-unit rural bank headquartered in Lingayen, had 12,991 accounts with total deposit liabilities of P364.39 million.

The bulk of its accounts or 99.52 percent has balances of P500,000 or less and is fully covered by deposit insurance.

“Upon takeover, 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 said.

Fora for depositors and borrowers will be held on April 9 and 10 to inform them of the requirements and procedures for filing deposit insurance claims, the PDIC said. Details of the fora will be posted at the bank premises and on the PDIC website, www.pdic.gov.ph.

Bank clients are urged to update their addresses with PDIC representatives at the bank premises or at the fora with the mailing address update forms accompanied with a valid ID. Depositors have until April 10 to update their addresses.

Those with valid deposit accounts amounting to P50,000 and below do not need to file deposit insurance claims unless they have outstanding loans or have incorrect addresses with the bank. The PDIC will start mailing payments to these depositors on the third week of April.

Meanwhile, for depositors with accounts above P50,000, claims settlement operations will be held starting the fourth week of April. The PDIC said the schedule will be posted at the bank premises and on the PDIC website.

The Gulf Bank has four branches in Alaminos, Dagupan City, and Mangatarem, all in Pangasinan, and Baguio City.

As of end-2013, the rural bank is primarily owned by bank chairman and president Myrna Lopez (27.37 percent), Vanessa Dapul (26.55 percent), Margarita Lopez (20.71 percent), Patricia Lopez-Torres (15.67 percent), Joseph Li (4.33 percent), and Claro Calaguio (3.63 percent), according to the PDIC.