The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) announced that it will start servicing claims for insured deposits in the closed Rural Bank of Sebaste (Antique), Inc. (RBSI) on Tuesday, October 2. RBSI was taken over by PDIC on August 25, 2007.

PDIC advised depositors to proceed directly to the bank premises where they maintained their deposit accounts and present to PDIC representatives their original evidence of deposits such as savings passbook or certificates of time deposit; and two (2) valid identification documents (IDs) with depositor's signature. PDIC will service claims during office hours, Monday to Friday.

Servicing of claims in the Head Office located in Sebaste, Antique, will end on October 12. Claims will be serviced in Boracay Branch located in Boracay, Malay, Aklan, until October 19. Claims will be serviced in Numancia Branch located in Numancia, Aklan, until October 26.

In a statement, PDIC reported that RBSI had estimated deposit liabilities amounting to P214.27 million as of December 31, 2006.

PDIC earlier issued an advisory to depositors informing them of the delay in servicing of claims stemming from difficulty in accessing bank records and the state of bank records found upon takeover.

The Monetary Board (MB) ordered the closure of Rural Bank of Sebaste, Inc. on August 24, 2007 by virtue of MB Resolution No. 947. Depositors of RBSI are given two (2) years from bank takeover to file their claims or until August 25, 2009 only. The maximum deposit insurance coverage is P250,000 per depositor.