The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) tightened its vetting procedures for top financial executives, ordering institutions to gather more granular personal data and secure explicit privacy waivers to weed out unqualified candidates from the banking system.
Outlined in Circular No. 1236, the enhanced policy aims to strengthen the integrity of the Philippine financial system by ensuring that only qualified individuals hold leadership positions.
According to the latest rule, the update stemmed from a high-level decision within the central bank, with the Monetary Board (MB) last month approving amendments to both the Manual of Regulations for Banks (MORB) and the Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions (MORNBFI) concerning the Authorization Form for Querying (AFQ).
This form serves as a critical tool for BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) when screening applicants, confirming the election of directors or trustees, and appointing officers. To tighten this evaluation process, the BSP now requires more granular personal data.
Under the new circular, the AFQ must include the complete maiden name of married female individuals, a taxpayer identification number (TIN), birth date, sex, and the last known address of the person subject to the query. In cases where a TIN is unavailable, the regulations allow a valid passport number to be used as an alternative.
These new data requirements are not merely administrative; this additional information serves as a bolstered layer of verification for the BSP to cross-reference against existing records and ascertain an individual's qualification or disqualification for any BSFI position.
A major aspect of the updated AFQ is the applicant's explicit waiver of privacy. By signing the form, an individual authorizes the BSFI to conduct a background investigation that includes inquiring into BSP records and watchlist files. Additionally, the applicant must declare that they waive their right to keep the information obtained from the inquiry confidential.
These new protocols are set for immediate implementation 15 calendar days after their publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.