World Bank - PDIC partnership. World Bank Country Director for the Philippines Motoo Konishi (4th from left) turned over the customized bank prediction model to PDIC Executive Vice President Imelda S. Singzon (Examination and Resolution Sector) (3rd from left). The financial modeling tool was part of the technical assistance granted by the WB to PDIC which commenced early this year. Also present during the turnover were (L-R) Manager Christopher G. Suguitan (PDIC-Bank Statistics Department), Senior Vice President Sandra A. Diaz (PDIC-Deposit Insurance Sector), WB Financial Sector Specialist Nataliya Mylenko, and FDIC Senior Economist John O’Keefe.

The World Bank recently turned over a customized bank failure prediction model to the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC), as part of the World Bank technical assistance to PDIC with funding from Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening (FIRST) Initiative.

The bank failure prediction model is the second output of the financial modeling project for the deposit insurance system under the auspices of the World Bank and FIRST Initiative. The model further improves PDIC’s analytical tools on risk profiling of banks and of the banking system in general. The stress-test model was completed and turned over by the World Bank in June 2013. Both financial models are expected to enable PDIC to strengthen its analytical capability for managing and building up its Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), the source of payment for insured deposits and of financial assistance to member-banks.

World Bank Country Director for the Philippines Motoo Konishi expressed optimism for the joint World Bank–PDIC initiative, citing that the tools can help guarantee the stability of the Philippine banking system and promote financial inclusion.

The PDIC had previously worked with the World Bank with funding from the FIRST Initiative in 2011 on a technical assistance to enhance the Insurance Reserves Targeting (IRT) Framework to improve the adequacy assessment of PDIC’s DIF.

The World Bank–PDIC partnership is in support of the Corporation’s strategic direction to promptly detect bank weaknesses through surveillance and monitoring.

* * * * *