Concerned bankers

They may talk about it only in whispers, perhaps careful not to piss off the powers-that-be, but I can tell you for sure that bankers aren't happy with the Marcos administration's move to reallocate their deposit insurance funds.

- IRIS GONZALES

This was what I gathered from the bankers I bumped into at the Bankers' Night last week.

I'm talking about the move of the Marcos government to reallocate P107.23 billion from state-owned deposit insurer Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) for other government projects.

As I wrote in my column last week, the actual amount siphoned by the government from PDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) is P107.23 billion.

The DIF amounted to P310.08 billion as of end-2023. Thus, based on that amount, the DIF would be down to P202.85 billion if you slash it by P107.23 billion.

However, PDIC president Bobby Tan said the DIF's current level is more than P250 billion, which he said is more than enough to meet the institution's obligations to insured depositors.

At the Bankers' Night, speaking to reporters, he also allayed concerns over the DIF, saying that bank deposits are safe and adequately covered.

But, as I said, bankers, whose premium payments are the reasons why there is a DIF in the first place, aren't exactly comfortable with the move. Some were actually surprised that the government is touching money that essentially belongs to depositors.

"Because it is our depositors' money, not the government's, it is private sector money and it should not be meddled with by free-spending legislators," said a ranking official of a major bank.

Another banker said that if the government would be tinkering with PDIC's DIF, then banks' insurance premiums—the amount that banks pay to PDIC so that their depositors' money is insured—should be reduced.