Oct. 3--The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will provide a package of loan relief measures for banks to ease the burden on clients, both individuals and businesses, affected by tropical storm Ondoy. In a statement, BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said the Monetary Board has approved six temporary relief measures to restructure the loans of bank clients in flooded areas.

Espenilla said the MB decided to exclude existing loans of borrowers in affected areas from the computation of past due ratios provided these are restructured or given relief.

The BSP reduced the 5 percent general loan loss provision to 1 percent for restructured loans of borrowers in the affected areas.

Also, the BSP suspended the penalties for delays in the submission of supervisory reports.

The banks are also allowed to provide financial assistance to their officers and employees who were affected by the calamity including assistance that may not be within the scope of the existing BSP-approved fringe benefit program.

The BSP will grant a 60-day grace period to settle the outstanding rediscounting obligations as of September 28 of all banks in the affected areas.

Banks can restructure with the BSP, on a case-to-case basis, the outstanding rediscounted loans of borrowers affected by the calamity.

For rural, thrift and cooperative banks, monetary authorities extended the special relief measures particularly the suspension of penalties for reserve deficiencies arising from calamity-related conditions, together with penalties related to ongoing rehabilitation programs.

Also, the BSP will provide allowances for probable losses from credit exposures to individuals and businesses directly affected by Ondoy, which will be spread out over a maximum of five years.

The central bank earlier said some banking offices located in calamity areas were temporarily unable to operate due to flooding.

The BSP said those eligible for relief measures are those located in areas declared by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) to be under a state of calamity.

These areas include the whole of National Capital Region (NCR); Cordillera Administrative Region--Mountain Province, Ifugao and Benguet; Region I--Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos Sur; Region II-Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya; Region III--Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac and Bataan; Region IVA--Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon; Region IVB--Mindoro Occidental and Oriental and Marinduque; and Region V--Catanduanes, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.

The latest move by the Monetary Board is consistent with earlier pre-emptive actions extended to banks located in areas that were hit by previous typhoons such as Milenyo, Cosme and Frank.in flooded areas

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