PDIC to sell assets of closed banks to boost buffer fund

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) will sell P266.8 million worth of acquired assets to boost its buffer fund for depositors’ claims, the state-run insurer said in a statement Friday. The assets consist of 59 residential, two agriculture and industrial, and eight mixed-used industrial properties, PDIC said. These will be auctioned off on Oct. 25. These properties would be showcased at the 6th Housing Fair organized by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council next month. Its deposit insurance fund now stands at P67 billion, said PDIC executive vice president for receivership and liquidation Cristina Que-Orbeta in an interview with reporters early this month. The fund is the source of payments for deposit insurance claims. PDIC data showed the number of banks ordered closed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and placed under PDIC receivership rose by 29 percent to 22 in the first eight months of the year from 17 a year earlier. The banks padlocked by the BSP and taken over by the PDIC were First Reliance Bank [Rural Bank of Indang (Cavite], Rural Bank of Tarlac Inc., Bank of Calape Savings and Mortgage Bank, Rural Bank of Garcia-Hernandez (Bohol) Inc., Rural Bank of Matanao (Davao del Sur) Inc., Express Savings Bank Inc., Mambajao Community Rural Bank Inc., Rural Bank of Pres. Roxas (North Cotabato) Inc., Rural Bank of Nabas (Aklan) Inc., Rural Bank of Tagudin (Ilocos Sur) Inc., Rural Bank of Tampakan (South Cotabato) Inc., and Rural Bank of Agno (Pangasinan) Inc. Also placed under PDIC receivership were Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank, Growers Rural Bank Inc., LBC Development Bank, Rural Bank of Manjuyod (Negros Oriental) Inc., GMA Rural Bank of Cavite Inc., Rural Bank of Bingawan (Iloilo) Inc., Rural Bank of Mapandan (Pangasinan) Inc., Rural Bank of Norzagaray (Bulacan) Inc., Rural Bank of Zapote (Las Piñas City) Inc., Ibalon Rural Bank (Tabaco, Albay) Inc., and Rural Bank of Baler (Aurora) Inc. — VS, GMA News