• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The new maximum deposit insurance coverage (MDIC) of P1 million, from P500,000 per depositor per bank, takes effect today, March 15, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) said.
The P1 million MDIC aims to “strengthen financial security for depositors, offering greater peace of mind in case of bank failures,” the state deposit insurer said in a statement March 14.
The PDIC, meanwhile, assured banks that the adjustment in the MDIC will not result in an increase in the current assessment rate levied on banks at 1/5 of one percent of banks’ total deposit liabilities, to help sustain financial stability.
It also said that it paid a total of P281.5 million in deposit insurance to depositors of banks ordered closed in 2024 by the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
These banks, now under liquidation by the PDIC, were Rural Bank of Cuyo (Palawan) Inc., Cooperative Bank of Bohol, and Community Rural Bank of Medellin (Cebu) Inc.
Payments were made for 7,482 deposit accounts or 81 percent of the total 9,231 accounts, which amounted to P281.5 million or 94 percent of the total P298.6 million estimated insured deposits for the three closed banks.
Payments to eligible depositors are charged against the Deposit Insurance Fund, the PDIC’s primary fund source for deposit insurance payouts, which stood at P236.95 billion at year-end 2024.
Under the PDIC Charter, or Republic Act 3591, as amended, depositors of closed banks have two years to file their deposit insurance claims, reckoned from the date of PDIC’s takeover of the bank.
The PDIC continues to accept deposit insurance claims from depositors via e-mail, postal mail, and courier service. Depositors may also file their claims personally at the PDIC Public Assistance Center in Makati City.
For inquiries, claimants outside Metro Manila may call the PDIC toll-free hotlines at 1-800-1-888-PDIC or 1-800-1-888-7342 during office hours, e-mail via pad@pdic.gov.ph, or private message to PDIC’s official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/OfficialPDIC. | CGC
