THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has eased the rule on proof of identity and cut the number of ID cards that clients must show from the mandatory two to one.

Deputy BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. told reporters they have shelved the two-ID rule and told banks to ask for only one ID card as proof of identity for bank transactions.

The issue of what constitutes a valid ID has also been tackled by the central bank.

According to Espenilla, the previous practice requires the submission of identification issued by government agencies.

He said a new BSP circular includes “a long list of [acceptable] IDs” other than those issued by government agencies.

ID cards from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Securities and Exchange Commission, Insurance Commission and BSP are now considered valid IDs.

“The main reason is to facilitate convenience in banking transactions without undermining the commitment to antimoney laundering objectives,” Espenilla said.

The anti-money laundering drive encourages banks to transact under the KYC, or know-your-customer, rule, to prevent or limit the flow of illegally obtained funds.

“This measure is our way of accommodating those concerns,” Espenilla said.

THE World Bank board of directors has “unanimously” approved the National Roads Improvement and Management Project Phase 2, or NRIMP 2, and imposed several anticorruption measures to ensure that the projected is shielded from corrupt and colluding people.

ASIA Trust Development Bank, a thrift bank whose shareholders include the two state-owned pension funds and the Asian Development Bank, is for sale.

THE government bared on Wednesday the likelihood of increasing its foreign borrowings this year to its original plan of $1 billion.

The amount was previously halved to $500 million on account of low interest rates in the country.

THE peso yesterday extended its plunge, falling 19 centavos from the previous day’s close, after jitters set in following reports of low returns in local equities and low volume of overseas remittances, currency traders said.

FROM a handful of microlenders whose loan outstanding was a few million pesos in 2000, the number of microlending institutions today have swelled past 200 and their loan portfolio has reached P6 billion.

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has eased the rule on proof of identity and cut the number of ID cards that clients must show from the mandatory two to one.