The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Philippine Deposit and Insurance Corp. (PDIC) recently signed the Supplemental Agreement to implement the Stregnthening Program for Rural Banks (SPRB) Plus that will help help improve the delivery of financial services to rural communities.
Under the SPRB Plus, eligible Strategic Third Party Investor (STPIs) now includes strong and well-manged thrift banks (TBs) and Universal and Commercial Banks (UKBs).
Moreover, with the exception of STPI UKBs which can avail of incentive given by the BSP without the financial assistance component, all other eligible STPIs, including non- bank corporations which are not subsidiaries of UKBs, may avail of both the FA and the incentives.
With regards to the financial assistance granted through PDIC, additional incentives on top of the regulatory relief under SPRB Module 1 will be offered by the BSP to broaden the participation under the Program and that it will promote successful banking partnerships.
Branch Licenses in restricted areas that shall be granted by the BSP for free based on the amount of capital contribution of the STPI and TBs that brings eligible banks’ risk-based capital adequacy ratio to 10 percent.
The SPRB plus expects eligible STPIs not only to sustain and strengthen the financial condition of resulting banks but also to improve their quality of corporate and governance and management.
Meanwhile, in the SPRB Module 1, that was created primarily to encourage mergers and consolidations among rural banks (RBs) especially those in the countryside bringing up a stronger and rural banking system. While in terms of the STPI RBs that intends to acquire eligible RBs, thru merger, can avail of financial assistance from the PDIC and regulatory relief from the BSP.
SPRB Plus is an enhanced version of the SPRB (SPRB module 1) that was launched by the BSP and PDIC in 2010 which is exclusively for rural banks.