New disclosure rules promote sustainability, digitization — BSP

THE STREAMLINED rules for banks on their quarterly balance sheets, which allow lenders to publish them either in print or online, aim to promote sustainability and digitalization, an official from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

The central bank has amended guidelines on lenders’ modes of compliance with respect to their published balance sheets, BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier said.

“The expansion in dissemination channels takes into technological advancements and is also in line with the BSP’s thrust of advocating sustainability and digitalization,” she told BusinessWorld in a Viber message.

“It also discontinues the regular issuance by the BSP of a call letter for the publication by a bank of its balance sheet and institutionalizes its publication and submission to the BSP on a quarterly basis via the API (application programming interface) platform,” she said.

The amendments also allow banks to include additional financial indicators on their published balance sheets such as asset quality, related party transactions, liquidity, profitability, capital adequacy and leverage.

This is “to better inform the public of the bank’s financial performance,” Ms. Fonacier said. 

Meanwhile, the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) welcomed the recently issued circular of the BSP, as it makes information dissemination more efficient. 

“With this circular, the regulator recognizes the bank’s transparency efforts of posting their audited financial statements in their respective websites. The general public, therefore, will have more ways of accessing the data they need to make well-informed financial decisions,” the BAP said in an e-mail. 

“The BAP will continue to work with the BSP to create and support policies that promote transparency in our financial system,” it added.

Under BSP Circular No. 1186 signed by BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. on Dec. 21, the central bank has allowed lenders to publish their quarterly balance sheet report in a printed or online version of a newspaper within 35 banking days following the end of the reference quarter.

A bank may also upload its quarterly balance sheet and consolidated balance sheet (BS/CBS) on its own website, to be shared for a period of at least one year.

“Banks which are unable to maintain a website due to financial and technological capacity limitations may post the same on the website of their respective banking industry associations also for a period of at least one year,” Ms. Fonacier said.

“Banks may also display a tabletop standee with QR (quick response) codes in a conspicuous place in the head office, all its branches and other offices, or through other digital/electronic means to make available their BS/CBS, as applicable, in digital format,” she added. 

Banks are required by the BSP to publish reports which reflect their financial condition, performance, corporate governance policies, and risk management strategies.

The circular amends Section 175 of the Manual of Regulations for Banks. The prescribed reportorial template of the published or posted balance sheet for banks on both solo and consolidated bases is attached on the circular posted on BSP’s website. — Keisha B. Ta-asan