The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) which took over the operations of Rural Bank of Malinao (Albay), Inc. after the bank was ordered closed by the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), is currently resolving constraints brought about by the absence of bank records in order to facilitate the immediate payout of insured deposits.

In a statement, PDIC first vice president Elizabeth E. Oller said that the lack of bank records required in preparing the Register of Estimated Insured Deposits (REID) has delayed the Corporation's efforts of servicing claims of depositors in RB Malinao.

"The PDIC regrets that it cannot start servicing the claims of depositors of RB Malinao within the usual single-digit turnaround time due to circumstances beyond the control of the Corporation. When PDIC took over RB Malinao last July 7, we received initial reports from our field personnel that the deposit records and other bank documents were missing. This has prevented us from starting our examination and subsequent generation of the register. Given the situation, we are exploring the possibility of reconstructing some of the records. We will check if these can be validated so we can have a basis for payout. We have asked the assistance of several concerned agencies to help us with the reconstruction of records," Oller said.

Reconstruction of the closed bank's loan portfolio for possible offset items is a requisite for the preparation of the REID. Meanwhile, the PDIC awaits data from the bank's creditors for the portfolio reconstruction.

The Monetary Board ordered the closure of RB of Malinao by virtue of Monetary Board Resolution No. 872 dated July 6, 2006. Under Republic Act 9302 that amended the PDIC Charter, the maximum deposit insurance coverage is now at P250,000 per depositor effective August 12, 2004. Depositors of RB Malinao have two (2) years from date of bank closure or until July 7, 2008 to file their claims for insured deposits.

PDIC advised depositors and creditors of the rural bank that it is doing everything it can so that payouts can be made at the earliest time possible.