By Carlo P. Mallo
Depositors of the Export and Industry Bank, which has been placed on receivership by the Monetary Board, need not panic as the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation is set to immediately process all valid claims.
Starting May 2, 2012, PDIC will start conducting depositor’s forum throughout the country to help explain the procedure and requirements needed for the processing of the payment of the depositors.
Last Friday, PDIC took over all assets and offices of the Export and Industry Bank to marshal all resources needed for the payment of its depositors.
Export & Industry Bank is a 50-unit bank with its head office located in Exportbank Plaza, Chino Roces Avenue corner Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City. Latest available records show that as of December 31, 2011, the Bank had 50,092 accounts with total deposit liabilities of P15.98 billion. According to the latest General Information Sheet filed by Export & Industry Bank with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank is majority owned by Ridderbrecht B.V. (11.62%), Lead Bancfund Holdings, Inc. (10.03%), Apex Bancrights Holdings, Inc. (10.03%), Extra Year Investments Ltd. (9.5%), Asiawide Refreshments (8.45%), Medco Asia Investments Corp. (7.86%), among others. Its Chairman is Jaime C. Gonzalez and its President is Juan Victor S. Tanjuatco.
“All insured depositors are assured that PDIC will pay insurance on all valid deposit accounts as soon as possible. PDIC EVP in charge of Receivership and Liquidation, Cristina Q. Orbeta has been designated official spokesperson regarding the closed bank with VP for Corporate Affairs Group Maria Leonida Fres-Felix as Deputy Spokesperson,” PDIC president Valentin Araneta said.
Payment for accounts with balances of P10,000 and below comprising 62% of the bank’s total deposit accounts of 50,052 is targeted to start by the end of May. Holders of these accounts who have no outstanding loans and who have updated their addresses in the bank in the past year, need not file deposit insurance claims.
Claims servicing operations for accounts of over P10,000 are expected to commence no later than end of June 2012.
The Monetary Board placed the bank under receivership on April 26 due to its inability to meet its obligations as they become due, insufficient realizable assets to meet its liabilities and its inability to continue in business without involving probable losses to its depositors or creditors. Moreover, the bank wrote BSP to surrender the bank operations to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and to declare a bank holiday effective Friday, April 27, 2012. The Monetary Board invoked Section 30 of Republic Act No. 7653, otherwise known as the New Central Bank Act, on account of the bank’s insufficient realizable assets to meet its liabilities and its inability to continue in business without involving probable losses to its depositors or creditors.
In a statement, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation said that it stands ready to service valid deposit claims from depositors of EIB and complete processing of claims as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas maintains that the overall Philippine banking system remains sound and stable with ample liquidity and high level of capitalization and that the closure of the Export and Industry Bank is not expected to adversely affect the Philippine banking system considering its relatively small size, with its total assets equivalent to only about 0.3% of the total assets of the banking system.