Banco Filipino branches closed for 2nd day; depositors’ tempers flare

Depositors’ tempers began to flare Wednesday as several branches of Banco Filipino (BF) Savings and Mortgage Bank remained closed for the second straight day Wednesday. Several depositors who trooped to the bank’s branches in Manila and Quezon City were dismayed upon seeing the branches were still closed, and security guards refused to talk to them. “Paano mag-aral ang anak ko niyan (How will my children continue their studies)?" an irate male depositor who went to the bank’s Intramuros (Manila) branch said in an interview on dzBB radio. He even called bank officials responsible for the situation “gago (idiots)." DzBB’s Carlo Mateo reported many of the depositors who lined up outside the Intramuros branch before 9 a.m. had hoped to encash their checks. Even the automated teller machine (ATM) at the branch bore a sign indicating it was “temporarily offline." This prompted the depositors to appeal to President Benigno Aquino III to intervene and have the BSP and Banco Filipino officials sit down and talk, the report said. A similar scenario occurred at the bank’s branch along Kamias Road in Quezon City, according to a report by dzBB’s Allan Gatus. Depositors at the Kamias branch went there early but saw the bank was padlocked. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Corporate Affairs Office director Fe dela Cruz appealed to depositors for calm, saying the BSP will act on the situation. “Ang BSP ay may mga decision na gagawin, makikita natin yan. (Sa ngayon), mahirap i-communicate (The BSP is doing something and we will see that in the coming days. But for now it is hard to make public what we are doing)," she said in an interview on dzBB radio. “Manatili tayong kalmado, magtiwala tayo ang BSP ginagawa ang lahat para maprotektahan ang interest ng ating depositor (Please remain calm, and trust that the BSP is doing everything to protect depositors)," she added. BF branches ‘open’ but no withdrawals Banco Filipino director and former Securities and Exchange Commission head Perfecto Yasay Jr. blamed the BSP for the bank’s woes. Yasay said that while Banco Filipino branches are open Wednesday, they will not entertain withdrawals. “Bukas kami pero ipapahayag namin sa depositor di namin mapagbigyan ang withdrawals hanggang di maaksyunan ng BSP ang aming request for support at emergency loan (We will open but we will tell the depositors we cannot service their withdrawal requests until the BSP heeds our request for support and an emergency loan)," he said in a separate interview on dzBB. He also accused the BSP of mismanaging the BF, saying the bank’s management cannot move without the BSP’s approval. He said the bank had been under the BSP’s strict supervision since it reopened in 1994 after it was closed in 1985. “Pag sinasabing we are mismanaged (If the BSP claims the bank is mismanaged), the BSP is the one mismanaging us because they are practically the ones making the decisions for us," he said. On Tuesday, several branches of Banco Filipino were closed for a bank holiday, prompting the BSP to order it to address the complaints of depositors. Owned by the Aguirre family, the Banco Filipino was founded in 1964, with the slogan, Subok na Matibay, Subok na Matatag. It has 32 branches in Metro Manila and nearby areas as well as 30 branches in the provinces. The BF is seeking P25 billion worth of financial assistance and regulatory relief as compensation for what it alleged as the “illegal closure" of the bank in 1985 by the BSP. — LBG, GMA News