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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider BSP tells banks: No discrimination against refugees

BSP tells banks: No discrimination against refugees

Published Jul 11, 2025 03:48 pm
After previously mandating tighter risk management procedures for banks, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has directed all regulated financial institutions to refrain from discriminating against persons of concern, such as refugees and asylum seekers, during customer due diligence.
According to a BSP memorandum issued July 8, all BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) are “reminded to ensure non-discrimination against certain types of customers or against a certain religion, race or ethnic origin, or such other attributes or profiles” when implementing the laws on anti-money laundering/countering terrorism and proliferation financing (AML/CTPF).
The enforcement of such laws includes conducting customer due diligence.
These customer types, the BSP said, include persons of concern (POC), referring to individuals whose protection and needs are prioritized under relevant United Nations (UN) Conventions. POCs include, but are not limited to, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless individuals, and those applying for stateless status.
“POC shall be ensured access to financial services and connectivity as part of their fundamental rights,” the BSP said.
These rights are based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UNSDG) No. 8.2.
To recall, all BSFIs were ordered in May to strengthen their risk management procedures by integrating the screening of negative news reports—such as fraud, crime, and scandals involving customers—into their customer due diligence and transaction monitoring processes.
BSFIs are reminded to include negative media report (NMR) screening as part of their customer due diligence process, alongside their existing transaction monitoring systems. NMR refers to adverse news, advisories, or reports about certain individuals or entities published or aired by the media.
The BSP has also reminded all BSFIs to review and update their AML/CTPF program, ensuring their internal policies on non-discrimination of certain customer types align with existing AML/CTPF laws and regulations.
These guidelines, the BSp said, should be communicated clearly to all relevant officers and staff for uniform implementation across all branches.

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