MANILA – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla has urged bank owners to protect their depositors’ money, a function that constitutes their primary responsibility.
In his speech during the launch of the book “Banking Laws of the Philippines – Annotated” at the Central Bank’s main office in Manila recently. Medalla underscored the need to update banking laws to cope with the rapid changes, both in law and in financial innovations.
Having banking laws means being more loyal to depositors than bank owners, he said, pointing out that 80% of the funds loaned by banks consist of depositors’ money and only 20% is owned by their bank.
“In a sense, a banker is almost like a public servant. He takes care of the people’s money. That’s why banking laws must give regulators great cover when they do their jobs,” he emphasized.
BSP data show that as of end-February 2022, the total assets of the country’s banking system grew by 7% year-on-year to P20.7 trillion, and the bulk of the assets are funded primarily by deposit generation and capital infusion.
The majority of the assets are held by universal and commercial banks at 94.3%, amounting to P19.5 trillion. This is followed by the 4.2% share of thrift banks, or P872.8 billion, and rural and cooperative banks at 1.5% or P312 billion.
Medalla said this is the reason why the central bank needs to have great cover from the laws to be fully capable of doing its job. For one, he said, the latest amendment to the law that allows BSP to borrow money from the public has enhanced the central bank’s capacity to address excessive liquidity that is sloshes the economy and, in turn, negatively impact the local currency.
“In the past, we were not allowed to borrow from the public. The most recent revision of the law now allows us to do that. This has allowed us to refine our monetary tools,” he pointed out.
In terms of the innovation in the payments system, which includes digitalization, the BSP chief said there would always be two sides – good and bad – and this is the reason why “it is important to chronicle these changes (in banking laws) to see where we have come from and to chart where we will go.”
“The reason self-interest is good for society is that there are rules, beliefs, and values that prevent self-interest from going haywire,” he said, adding that rules and beliefs are “extremely important for a progressive and inclusive society.” (PNA)