Philippines may ask banks for more documents to support FX deals

The Philippine central bank may require banks to provide more documents to support foreign-exchange transactions and to increase reporting frequency amid the local currency’s excessive volatility.

“The central bank may take action based on its assessment of market conditions and activities of the supervised institutions,” the bank said in an emailed response to questions Sunday. “These actions may include requiring banks to report more information or to increase reporting frequency.”

Bangko Sentral is stepping up efforts to curb the slump in the currency, which last week posted its longest run of weekly losses since 1999. The central bank has been “very active” in the FX market to curb excessive volatility and stem the peso’s depreciation, Governor Felipe Medalla said Friday.

Given current market conditions of higher FX volatility, officials may ask banks for additional supporting documents to show the underlying transactions of their dollar requirements, it said. — Bloomberg