EIB depositors given till Apr 28 to file claims

MANILA, Philippines - Depositors of the shuttered Export and Industry Bank (EIB) only have until April 28 to file deposit insurance claims, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) said.

In a statement, the state deposit insurer explained that under the law, depositors only have two years from the date of bank closure to file insurance claims. EIB was placed under the PDIC’s receivership on April 26, 2012.

As of March this year, PDIC has paid a total of 37,508 accounts with total deposits amounting to P2.18 billion. However, depositors owning the 10,673 accounts worth P196.86 million have yet to file insurance claims.

PDIC assured depositors with accounts amounting to more than the P500,000-maximum insurance coverage that this will not affect their claim to the uninsured part of their deposits.

“Payment for the insured portion of the deposits is sourced from the PDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund, the corporation’s main fund source for payout of deposit insurance claims,” the state deposit insurer said.

The PDIC has received the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ approval to proceed with the liquidation of EIB’s assets following two failed attempts of bidding out the shuttered bank.

The go signal from the regulator was received by PDIC in April last year, however, due to calls for rehabilitation from depositors, there has been no action made.

At the same time, third party investors such as the Union Bank of the Philippines continue to look at EIB with prospects of rehabilitating the bank although specific details on what these strategic investors plan for the bank have not been disclosed.