PDIC takes over 3 banks as 4 more declare holiday

MANILA, Philippines - The country's banking regulator has placed three more rural banks under the receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) while four banks have declared a bank holiday. By placing rural lenders under receivership, the government will ensure that a bank's cash and assets are preserved so that it can pay off its creditors, including depositors. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has ordered the PDIC to take over the Rural Bank of Bais in Negros Oriental, Pilipino Rural Bank in Cebu, and Rural Bank of San Jose in Batangas. Meanwhile, the Philippine Countryside Bank in Cebu, the Dynamic Bank in Batangas, San Pablo City Development Bank and the Nation Bank in Bacolod have declared a bank holiday. "The Bangko Sentral is investigating these banks to determine their financial condition and viability as well as violations of banking laws that may have been committed. The Bangko Sentral will take appropriate action based on the findings," the BSP said in a statement released late Thursday. The central bank assured that the Philippine banking system remains healthy despite the trouble among rural banks. On December 8, the Rural Bank of Paranaque declared a bank holiday. It was followed by the Monetary Board's move to place it under the receivership of the PDIC. "These banks represent only a tiny fraction of the banking system and this reaffirms the BSP's assessment that the banking system remains stable, highly-capitalized, and highly-liquid," the BSP said. "The Bangko Sentral advises the public to avoid making sweeping judgement on the condition of individual banks based on pure speculation as these tend to be self-fulfilling," the central bank added. - GMANews.TV