How to inspire public trust in the banking system

The news item “BSP allays public fears over bank hacking” (News, 12/13/21) got us thinking if the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will ever start putting its money where its mouth is. In the wake of social media reports about “several bank accounts … being hacked and funds being transferred to cybercriminals’ fictitious accounts in another bank,” depositors continue to feel they are always getting the short end of the stick whenever something goes awry with the banking system.

Lip service is cheap, too lame, and hollow to be any comfort to depositors: “BSP was already coordinating with the banks involved—BDO, Unibank, and Union Bank of the Philippines—to immediately undertake remedial measures, including reimbursement of the money lost by the affected clients.” “Reimbursement” does not happen until “full investigation” is done by the victimized bank, and the time it usually takes to do that may seem like eternity for depositors who desperately need their money back.

If the BSP is really serious about its job, it should exert more influence to have the amount of “insurance” for bank deposits increased from P500,000 per account to a more comprehensive one. Why not insure the entire amount of deposit (never mind the paltry interest)? Isn’t that the best way to inspire public trust in the banking system?

Does the BSP really think it’s a fair deal that depositors—who are technically “creditors” of the bank—can only earn about one percent interest per annum on their deposits, while the banks earn as much as 30 percent interest when they lend money to their depositors? And then when the banks screw up, depositors are supposed to be happy for at least getting back a fraction of their “insured” deposits?

The BSP should back up the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. to the fullest extent possible to guarantee the latter’s own financial viability when it has to make good with dispatch the total amounts lost by depositors. Alas, it seems the BSP itself does not have that much confidence in the banking system it is supposed to be overseeing.

Ulysses B. Uy, [email protected]