NEWS/PRESS RELEASE
PR-010-20
Date of Release: January 17, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) reminded all depositors, creditors and borrowers of the closed AMA Rural Bank of Mandaluyong, Inc. (AMA Bank) to communicate only with authorized PDIC personnel for all their inquiries and other concerns. Republic Act No. 3591, as amended, granted PDIC the sole authority to manage and administer closed banks, as Receiver.

To date, AMA Bank remains closed and under PDIC liquidation despite the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Court of Appeals on November 25, 2019. The TRO, which prohibited the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the PDIC from further implementing Monetary Board (MB) Resolution No. 1705.D dated November 7, 2019, is valid for a period of 60 days from November 26, 2019 until January 25, 2020, unless lifted.

The Court of Appeals has set the Petition for hearing on January 20, 2020. PDIC has earlier asked the Court of Appeals to lift and dissolve the TRO, which was issued after the majority stockholders of AMA Bank filed a Petition to nullify the said MB Resolution.

PDIC assured that it remains committed to pay the insured deposits of AMA Bank depositors. To pursue this, PDIC will continue with its inventory and examination of bank records once the TRO is lifted to be able to process and settle deposit insurance claims.

“Our commitment to all depositors is to expedite the inventory-taking and examination of bank records to pay bonafide depositors with legitimate deposits as soon as possible,” PDIC President Roberto B. Tan said.

The PDIC admits that it will be confronted with difficulties in expediting the payout operations because of the refusal of accountable officers and employees of AMA Bank to turn over bank records. Hence, the PDIC will have to identify, verify and reconcile records that can be used in processing claims of depositors by itself. Given the absence of a proper turnover of bank records, the PDIC will continue to resort to an alternative method of inventory-taking by having a third-party person-in-authority as witness.

The PDIC said that the refusal of AMA Bank employees to cooperate, the adoption of an alternative approach to inventory-taking, and the issuance of the TRO all contributed to the delay in the payout operations.

Depositors, borrowers, creditors and all other clients of AMA Bank may communicate with PDIC Public Assistance Department through the Public Assistance Hotline at (02) 8841-4141 or the Toll Free Hotline at 1-800-1-888-PDIC (7342) for those outside Metro Manila. Inquiries may also be sent by e-mail to pad@pdic.gov.ph or via private message to the official PDIC Facebook account at www.facebook.com/OfficialPDIC. Walk-in inquiries will also be accommodated at the PDIC Public Assistance Center located at the 3rd Floor, SSS Building, 6782 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino St., Makati City. AMA Bank clients are likewise advised to visit the PDIC website, www.pdic.gov.ph, for any update.

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The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) was established on June 22, 1963 by Republic Act 3591 to provide depositor protection and help maintain stability in the financial system by providing deposit insurance. Effective June 1, 2009, the maximum deposit insurance coverage is PhP500,000 per depositor. All deposit accounts by a depositor in a closed bank maintained in the same right and capacity shall be added together. A joint account shall be insured separately from any individually-owned deposit account.

PDIC news/press releases and other information are available at the website, www.pdic.gov.ph.

Corporate Communications Dept.
PHILIPPINE DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
Tel: (02) 8841-4636 to 39
Trunkline: (02) 8841-4000
Website: www.pdic.gov.ph.
Email: ccd@pdic.gov.ph
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OfficialPDIC
Twitter: www.twitter.com/OfficialPDIC