BSP pushes Tier 3 banks digital

Thrift, rural, or cooperative banks under the Tier 3 category—at least 75 percent of clients, funds, or transactions are handled digitally—may be ordered by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to convert into digital banks (DBs), as the central bank also moves to raise the minimum capital requirement to P1 billion.

- By DERCO ROSAL

In a draft circular published on Monday, July 28, the BSP has outlined three tiers based on the banks’ level of digital centricity, each tier reflecting a higher level of digital operations, with stricter regulatory requirements applied as the bank’s digital complexity, scale, and risk exposure increase.

As such, the BSP said it “may require a digital-centric thrift or rural or cooperative bank under Tier 3 to convert to a DB,” as they have become “eligible for conversion to a DB license.”