THE Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) paid P124.11 million in deposit insurance last year for 7,072 accounts affected by the closure of five banks, it said in a statement on Thursday.
The state deposit insurer said the value made up 76% of the estimated 9,305 total deposit accounts of the five closed banks and 69% of total insured deposits worth P208.07 million.
The PDIC took over five lenders that the central bank’s Monetary Board (MB) closed down in 2020, namely Providence Rural Bank, Inc.; Rural Bank of Tibiao (Antique), Inc.; De La O Rural Bank, Inc.; San Fernando Rural Bank, Inc.; and Cooperative Bank of Aurora.
PDIC provides a maximum insurance coverage of up to P500,000 per depositor for all valid accounts of closed banks. It allows depositors to file their claims within two years after the bank takeover.
Amid quarantine protocols due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state deposit insurer said it sent payouts through direct mail of postal money orders for deposits P100,000 below, and check payments worth more than P100,000.
It also facilitated the electronic filing of deposit insurance claims through email and extended additional payment modes such as transfer of deposit and over-the-counter withdrawals through the state-run lender Land Bank of the Philippines.
“It is important for PDIC to sustain the trust of the depositing public through adequate and timely delivery of deposit insurance payments to closed banks’ depositors. Despite the pandemic and the community quarantines imposed across the country, we continue to deliver critical frontline services by maximizing the use of technology and other channels to provide much
needed assistance to stakeholders,” PDIC President Roberto B. Tan was quoted as saying. — B.M. Laforga