BSP amends rules on single borrowers’ credit exposure limits

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. has issued a circular amending the regulations on credit exposure limits to single borrowers. This move further relaxes the interbank exposures of small banks by exempting their deposits in government financial institutions from the computation of the single borrower’s limit (SBL). It also promotes comprehensive rural development by making credit available and accessible in areas unserved by bigger banks. In his circular issued Tuesday, August 16, but released only on Thursday, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the deposits of rural or cooperative banks in GFIs, such as the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines, will not be covered by the SBL under the General Banking Law of 2000. Likewise exempted from the SBL are deposits of rural or cooperative banks in private banks in localities without government banks. The SBL is imposed on banks as a prudential measure to avoid undue credit concentration or excessive credit exposures, which may cause significant losses to a bank should the borrowers default on their obligations. “Deposits of rural banks with government-owned or -controlled financial institutions like the LBP and the DBP shall not be covered by the SBL imposed under RA 8791," Tetangco said. Loans and other credit accommodations and usual guarantees by a bank to any non-bank entity, whether locally or internationally, are subject to limits of P100 million, whichever is higher. Tetangco, however, said deposits in private banks located in municipalities or cities where there are government banks subject to limits on single borrowers. — PE/VS, GMA News