The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is set to issue a new circular that will require banks to submit all required data to the Central Bank on time.
Deputy Governor for the Supervision and Examination Sector Nestor Espenilla Jr., who is also the Central Bank’s incoming governor, said the need for a new circular arose after the failure of some banks to meet the deadline in submitting their data to the BSP.
“I guess maybe there are some banks who don’t appreciate the importance of the data, others are really challenged to produce high-quality data. Others feel they can just pay the penalty,” Espenilla said.
While the current penalty for lax reportage is minimal, Espenilla said the new guidelines will push banks not just to pay monetary penalties but they could also be subject to other kinds of sanctions—including holding individual officers accountable for the delay.
The deputy governor said the responsible officers could be suspended or disqualified from working in their current position if late reportage is persistent and seemingly intentional.
Espenilla told reporters the new circular would lay the framework for improved preparation and submission of supervision reports to the BSP by the local financial institutions.
“It makes it very clear whose responsibility it is all the way to the board to make sure that the data being submitted to the BSP is accurate and based on the requirements of the Central Bank. These reports are very important for the BSP because they form the foundation of policy-making,” Espenilla said.
“That also lays down the obligations of banks, such as to report in a timely manner and what are the sanctions, including if you continuously fail to meet the reporting timelines, which creates more sanctions. It basically strengthens the framework for high-quality data submission to the BSP,” he added.
Espenilla said the actual circular with all the details will be issued soon as it has already been approved by the Monetary Board.