Rural banks laud BSP move to increase deposit limit

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s rural bankers lauded the move of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to increase the deposit limit in microbanking offices.

Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) president Edward Leandro Garcia Jr. said “ RBAP welcomes the recent initiative of the BSP to increase MBOs deposit limit by 63 percent.

“It is very encouraging to know that the rural banking industry and the BSP share the same vision of greater financial inclusion that will eventually create the much-needed push for economic development in the countryside,” Garcia said.

Garcia said the increase would further allow more funds flowing into the countryside.

“By increasing the deposit cap, we give rural depositors greater flexibility in saving their hard-earned cash,” Garcia said.

From the original limit of P15,000 per depositor, a depositor – under the new BSP initiative – will be allowed to save up to P40,000, allowing farmers, fisher folks, micro entrepreneurs and other depositors in rural communities greater opportunity to save money through MBOs.

Under BSP Circular 694, depositors in MBOs are also allowed to open micro-deposit accounts with less than P100 maintaining balance and avail of micro-credit for personal and business purposes.

“Usually, depositors in rural areas are badly affected during emergencies because in such cases, they have limited financial capacity or at times totally devoid of money to be used for contingencies,” the RBAP official said.