PDIC pays P1.1-B in deposit insurance claims as of end-July

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) on Tuesday said it paid P1.1 billion in deposit insurance claims as of end-July 2019.

The claims paid covered 47,916 valid deposit accounts that had balances in closed banks within the maximum deposit insurance coverage (MDIC) of P500,000.

Of the total P1.1 billion deposit insurance claims paid, about 94.5 percent or P1.05 billion were payments made to depositors of the seven banks ordered closed by the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in 2019.

The seven troubled banks ordered closed were the Puerto Princesa-based Palawan Bank, Rural Bank of Mabitac (Laguna), Bagong Bangko Rural ng Malabang (Lanao del Sur), Rural Bank of Guihulungan (Negros Oriental), Rural Bank of Basey (Samar), Iloilo-based Valiant Bank Inc., and East Coast Rural Bank of Hagonoy (Bulacan).

The balance of P60.4 million or 5.5 percent were paid to depositors of banks closed prior to 2019 and who either filed depositor insurance claims or completed required documentation of their claims only this year, according to the PDIC.

Deposit insurance payments are sourced from the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), the PDIC's main fund.

As of the first half of the year, the DIF remained well-capitalized at P177.8 billion or 6.4 percent of the estimated insured deposits in the banking system.

The ratio is higher than the minimum corporate target of 5.5 percent for the year for the DIF adequacy.

PDIC says that it paid deposit insurance claims through various modes to provide convenience to closed banks’ depositors.

"Payments are made through postal money orders (PMOs) for depositors who have valid deposit balances of P100,000.00 and below; have updated addresses in the closed bank’s records  or have updated their  addresses through the Mailing Address Update Form (MAUF) of PDIC; have no obligations with the bank, or have not acted as co-makers of these obligations, or are not spouses of the borrowers; and have not maintained the account under the name of business entities," it said.

"These depositors are paid outright and are not required to file deposit insurance claims," it said.

Depositors who are required to file deposit insurance claims are paid onsite through PDIC’s Field Operations Claims Settlement (FOCS).

"These involve depositors with valid deposit accounts with balances of more than P100,000.00; or depositors regardless of type of account and deposit balance who have outstanding obligations with the closed bank, either as borrower, co-maker, or spouse of borrower; with incomplete or outdated mailing address found in the bank records; with accounts under the name of business entities; with accounts not eligible for early payment; and who are deceased, whose filing of claim is thru the legal heirs," it said.

FOCS are usually held for a specified period either at the closed bank’s premises or in venues in close proximity to the closed bank if the bank premises are not suitable for payout operations, the PDIC said.

"Meanwhile, depositors who are unable to file their deposit insurance claims during the FOCS period may file their claims personally or by mail through PDIC’s Home Office Claims Settlement (HOCS) at the PDIC Public Assistance Center, 3rd Floor, SSS Building, 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino St., Makati City," said the corporation. — John Ted Cordero/DVM, GMA News