Banks with customers hit by ASF, COVID-19 to get BSP regulatory relief

Last updated on May 18th, 2021 at 05:30 am

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will provide regulatory relief to banks hit by the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF).

The central bank stated in a statement Tuesday that it extended the coverage of Circular 1071, which provides the framework for the granting of regulatory aid to banks and quasi-banks.

The circular was extended to cover both ASF and COVID-19, which suggests grant relief to banks impacted by calamities to support their recovery efforts.

According to the latest available data from the Department of Agriculture (DA), four areas in the Philippines–Benguet, Camarines Sur, Kalinga and Quirino–remain positive for ASF.

Meanwhile in China, COVID-19 has already killed more than 2,400, which has registered more than 76,000 cases so far.

Under the temporary regulatory relief, banks and quasi-banks may take advantage of a staggered reservation of credit loss allowance, failure to impose penalties on legal reserve deficiencies, and failure to recognize certain default accounts as due in the past.