BSP urges banks to provide temporary grace period for loan payments, suspend online banking fees

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is urging local financial institutions to suspend fees on the use of online banking platforms and grant a temporary grace period for loan payments, amid an enhanced community quarantine placed over mainland Luzon.

In a statement, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the central bank will give regulatory relief to its supervised institutions and give leeway to borrowers.

"These measures aim to encourage our BSFIs to grant a temporary grace period for loan payments or restructure loan accounts of their borrowers," he said.

Among the regulatory relief measures to be made available to institutions is the exclusion from the past due loan ratio of loans to affected borrowers for a year; and the staggered booking of provision for probable losses for five years.

Diokno said financial assistance may also be granted by BSFIs to their employees that are affected by COVID-19, subject to the subsequent regularization of the central bank.

"Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 may result in disruption in bank operations, the BSP will not impose monetary penalties on the delayed submission of their supervisory reports and on legal reserve deficiencies, with the latter subject to BSP approval," the central bank chief stated.

In the meantime, Diokno also called on banks and financial institutions to waive charges on electronic money transactions.

"Meanwhile, we strongly encourage our supervised financial institutions to temporarily suspend all fees and charges imposed on the use of online banking platforms or electronic money, including those imposed on the use of Instapay or PesoNet electronic fund transfer," he said.

"This will enable the general public to facilitate banking transactions during the COVID-19 situation," Diokno added.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday ordered an enhanced community quarantine over the entire Luzon island, given the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). — RSJ, GMA News