BSP, PDIC eye rescue plan for small banks

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) with the Philippine Desposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) will come up with a rescue package for troubled banks across the country through mergers instead of direct government infusions.

BSP deputy Gov. Nestor Espenilla said the main thrust of the program was to provide new incentives for banks seeking to fuse or merge with larger, more efficient lenders.

Espenilla said the lifelines will build on the existing incentives infrastructure but did not provide details.

“We’re still discussing features with the PDIC so it’s a bit premature to talk specifics,” he said.

Espenilla said the lifelines will also be made available to failed banks seeking new investors.

Espenilla said the white knights or banks seeking to merge or absorb smaller banks have to prove themselves strong to avail of the financial lifeline.

“The surviving entity has to be a strong bank to qualify,” he stressed.

Some of the thrift units that could benefit from the lifelines include those recently ruined by self-styled financiers whose business models closely resemble that allegedly employed by the Legacy Group of Banks under Celso de los Angeles.

De los Angeles, now claiming sickness, has tons of trouble with the BSP and has haled him to court for various charges that include large scale estafa or swindling and falsifying public commercial documents.

De los Angeles is not alone in the shadowy business of hoodwinking unsophisticated depositors in the countryside but even these self-styled financiers should have their day in court as well, the BSP said. –Ruben Hortelano, Daily Tribune