The use of digital platforms allowed the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) to significantly slash its clearing time in settling 19,184 deposit insurance claims and in resolving more than 30,000 loan accounts in closed banks last year, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.
In a report to Carlos Dominguez, DOF secretary and PDIC board chairman, Roberto Tan, PDIC president and chief executive officer, said deposit insurance claims filed last year involving 10 banks with no more than 3,000 accounts each were settled in 17 to 22 working days, significantly faster versus its target of 27 working days.
Meanwhile, all deposit insurance claims filed in two larger banks with over 3,000 to 10,000 accounts each were settled in 37 to 40 working days, an improvement over its target of 41 working days.
Additionally, the PDIC chief reported that insured deposits paid in closed banks grew from P219.68 million in 2020 to P471.15 million in 2021.
In cleaning up its non-cash portfolio, Tan disclosed that the 30,384 loan accounts resolved in 2021 were 70 percent higher than its target of 17,826 loan accounts for a three-year period from 2019 to 2021.
The PDIC has resolved a total of 79,474 loan accounts.
Tan also said PDIC’s target of disposing of 807 real properties also improved as it completed the disposal of 1,141 real properties in 2021, bringing total asset disposal to 3,551 properties since 2019.
The PDIC manages a total inventory of 32,000 real properties and a five-year asset disposal program has been drawn up to expedite the disposal process.
The PDIC chief reported that the corporation continued last year the implementation of electronic filing and payment arrangements to settle deposit insurance claims; and electronic bidding of properties as a new normal approach to asset disposal.
These online channels include the web-based claim form made available by the PDIC on its website; and payment channels such as PesoNet, Instapay and other electronic money issuers.
“We also continued the use of digital media platforms and local information networks to provide prompt and continuing information to depositors and other clients,” Tan said.
He said the implementation of PDIC’s Closed Bank Loan Incentive Program (CLIP), which offers easy payment and zero penalty initiative to borrowers of banks that were ordered closed by the Monetary Board, also helped speed up the resolution of loan accounts.
CLIP offers substantial discounts to closed-bank borrowers with principal loan balances of P1 million and below and who will opt to pay through a one-time cash settlement.
Tan said the PDIC under the Duterte administration will continue to expand the use of electronic modes of settling deposit insurance claims as part of its digitalization efforts.
