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Thursday, January 08, 2009
'Bank runs' are just false alarms: officials
CANDABA -- Officials of three rural banks in Pampanga said the reported “bank runs” which sent their clients and depositors in withdrawal frenzy Tuesday were false alarms.
Teresa David-Carlos, the Bank of Florida’s president and chief executive officer, assured all the clients and the public that the bank and its 12 branches in the province, Bulacan, Tarlac and Manila are stable and in perfect financial shape.
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"There was nothing 'abnormal' about Tuesday's situation at the branch and they are capable of meeting the requirements of their clients at any given time," she said.
The Pampanga Federation of Rural Banks (PFRB) also denied Wednesday that the rural banks in the City of Fernando and other towns in Pampanga went on a holiday.
"That's not true," Raymund Josef Laki, PFRB president, said in reaction to a report on ANC Wednesday afternoon.
Laki said all of its 24 member rural banks, except for two, are operating as usual. The two banks, which went on holiday last December, are the Rural Bank of Bacolor and the Rural Bank of Sta. Rita.
"The rural banks in Pampanga are in good shape financially and continue to grow," Laki said. "What happened recently to a few rural banks doesn't represent the true state of the others or the entire rural bank sector," he added.
Laki said under the strict supervision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the rural banks continue to service the requirements of their depositors and boost growth and progress in the countryside.
The announcements came after a mass of clients and depositors converged in front of the Bank of Florida in Candaba as early as 8:30 a.m. Tuesday after hearing reports that the bank would shut down operations.
Millet Gumabon, a client who works for the Vice Governor's Office at the Capitol, called Sun.Star Pampanga at 8:40 a.m. to inquire if the bank would really close.
She said her husband told her over the phone that clients of the bank panicked upon receiving "hearsay" and "false alarms," causing them to queue at the bank for queries. Many also already filled up withdrawal slips.
Gumabon, trembling and on the verge of tears, said even her father, Agerico Tecson Jr., became nervous after getting the report, whose source was not determined. Tecson deposited his lifetime savings in the Bank of Florida.
Gumabon then asked her superiors at the office to allow her to take the day off to go to the bank.
But immediately, banks officers led by lawyer and bank compliance officer Elisa Laqui allayed the fears of the people waiting at the branch for clarifications. Laqui and other officers announced that the clients had nothing to worry about since the rural bank has over a billion pesos in resources.
The Bank of Florida became a billion peso-bank two years ago and is currently one of the top 10 rural banks in the country in terms of paid-up capital, resources and assets.
It is said to be backed by a highly professional organization and a board of directors where two distinguished corporate executives sit in as independent directors.
But the clients, whose line had reached the street fronting the bank by 2:30 p.m., said they wanted to make sure their hard-earned money is really safe and secure.
"Maybe we have a reason to worry because that's all the money we have," said a fish vendor who admitted she has been a client of the bank for almost three years now.
A man in his mid-30s, still in his office uniform, said his wife asked him to skip work and withdraw their joint savings in the bank. "She told me to just stash it in a chest," he said in jest.
For her part, Cristina Mangalus, the bank's assistant vice president and head of branch operations, said she received reports from branch personnel here that an unidentified teacher, who had an account with the bank, apparently triggered the "false alarm."
"We were surprised by the reports. Early morning we were deluged by calls and queries from our clients and staff about the alleged mass withdrawals made by our clients when on Monday, a substantial number of clients deposited their money with us. I was told it was sparked by a teacher who worried about her savings. But everything is okay now," Mangalus said.
According to earlier reports, majority of the clients of the rural banks that declared bank holidays at the height of the Christmas season, were teachers, small entrepreneurs and vendors.
To show that the Bank of Florida is really in good shape, one of its independent directors, together with a group of businessmen, made their deposits at the Sta. Ana branch Wednesday.
In San Luis town, officials of Rural Bank of San Luis Inc. and Bangko San Luis belied reports that they too were closing down.
Also on Tuesday, panicky clients of the two banks were reportedly massing up amid the news of bank runs and bank holidays plaguing the rural banking industry in the province.
Another rural bank in Mindanao reportedly declared a bank holiday for still unknown reasons on the same day. But a rural bank official in that branch said: "All is well here. What you see is just one of those normal banking days when transactions are heavy because it is the first banking day after the holidays. The reports this morning are false alarms and the public has nothing to worry about." (JTD/Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (January 8, 2009 issue)
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