There are no Philippine banks that have investments, dealings or transactions with the distressed California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), according to a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official.
BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier told Manila Bulletin that there are no local banks exposed in the collapsed US bank either. “(There’s) none,” she said late Monday, March 13.
On Tuesday, March 14, the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) issued a statement to calm the public and to voice its confidence in the “continued strength and stability of the Philippine banking system”.
“The Bankers Association of the Philippines assures the Filipino public that recent developments in the U.S. financial system have no substantial or material impact on Philippine banks,” said BAP.
It added that “banks have diversified deposit bases that include all sectors of the Philippine economy, allowing them to continuously provide the liquidity needs of their clients. Additionally, banks in the Philippines continue to have capital and liquidity ratios that exceed the requirements set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.”
The BAP, which has 44 members, said the BSP has laid down strong prudential measures to provide the local banking system the capability to “withstand economic shocks.”
The group said they continue to work with the BSP to “pursue reforms that will lead to an even stronger financial system that sufficiently provides the financial needs of the banking public.”
SVB, a bank lending to technology companies, was first reported to have problems a week ago, triggering bankruns. The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has already placed the problematic bank under a deposit insurance bank.
Its collapse has spooked both global and local markets especially since it was followed by another US bank, Signature Bank based in New York, two days after SVB closed.
As of end-2022, the BSP is supervising 45 universal and commercial banks or the big banks. There are also 43 thrift banks, 403 rural banks and cooperative banks, and six digital banks.