PDIC to pay deposit claims starting February

MANILA, Philippines - Starting February, the government will pay claims to depositors of 12 rural lenders placed under receivership, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) said. More than half of PDIC’s personnel, including a central bank-accredited external auditor, have been engaged to assist in the pre-settlement examination of 135,000 deposit accounts in 50 locations across the country, PDIC president Jose C. Nograles said. “The outsourcing of pre-settlement examination will speed up the process and will enable PDIC to start payout by middle of February," Nograles said. Besides being a pre-requisite to a claims payout, the pre-settlement examination will involve checking, evaluating, and verifying bank records to ensure that payments are made to the right persons, Nograles said. Although claims will be sourced from the PDIC’s deposit insurance fund, the agency intends to ensure that payment is made to the right individuals, Nograles said. “Claims will be paid at the soonest possible time to provide depositors immediate relief," he explained, adding that depositors with deposits of P100,000 and below will be given priority. Small depositors – those with less than P100,000 – comprise 62 percent of deposit accounts in these 12 closed banks, according to Nograles. Meanwhile, depositors of Rural Bank of Paranaque will be among the first to receive their claims. They will be followed by the Pilipino Rural Bank, Rural Bank of Bais (Negros Oriental), Rural Bank of San Jose (Batangas), Bank of East Asia, First Interstate Bank, Philippine Countryside Rural Bank, Dynamic Rural Bank, Nation Bank, Rural Bank of Carmen (Cebu), Rural Bank of DARBCI, and San Pablo City Development Bank. In a related development, the state-led deposit insurer has begun talks with top audit companies which will help assist the PDIC in claims payout. Companies such as Manabat, Delgado, Amper & Co. (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu), Isla Lipana & Co. (Price Waterhouse Coopers), Manabat San Agustin & Co. (KPMG), SGV (Ernst & Young) and Punongbayan & Araullo (Grant Thornton International) have all expressed interest in securing the contract. - GMANews.TV