The Central Bank of the Philippines issued Circular No. 1221 amending the Manual of Regulations for Banks framework for granting regulatory relief to banks affected by calamities declared under a state of calamity. The revised package broadens the available relief measures, sets eligibility and timing rules tied to the “inception date” of a calamity, and introduces additional operational flexibilities, including temporary relaxation of customer identification requirements for certain transactions and a time-bound alternative process for banks to obtain physical currency from Bangko Sentral regional offices and branches. Under the amended policy, banks with offices or customers in declared affected areas can avail of relief by notifying their supervising department within one year from the calamity’s inception date, with most measures usable for up to one year from that inception date unless otherwise specified. Key borrower-facing measures include a mutually agreed grace period of up to six months for loan payments on loans that were current before the calamity, without interest on interest, penalties, fees, or other charges, and encouraged deferment for current agricultural loans for six to twelve months with repayment aligned to production cycles, with case-by-case extensions supported by documentation. Banks may waive certain Bangko Sentral documentary requirements for restructuring covered loans, temporarily exclude affected borrowers’ loans from past due and non-performing loan ratio computations for supervisory purposes while continuing to report actual figures in prudential returns, and use adjusted ratios during the relief period for assessing compliance with minimum prudential requirements. Operational relief includes relaxed notification expectations for changes in banking days and hours, streamlined handling of temporary branch and branch-lite unit closures with public notice expectations and a 30-day limit, and the ability to defer opening approved branches in affected areas for up to three years from Bangko Sentral approval. For thrift banks, rural banks, and cooperative banks, additional options include waiver of monetary penalties for delayed supervisory reports, Bangko Sentral-approved staggered booking of allowance for credit losses and impairment losses of certain physical assets over up to three years, and a six-month moratorium without penalty on monthly payments due to the Bangko Sentral for banks undergoing rehabilitation. Rediscounting banks may apply for a 60-day grace period on rediscounting obligations, request case-by-case restructuring of rediscounted loans for affected borrowers, and benefit from relaxed eligibility requirements that exclude the reserve requirement criterion for certain rediscounting actions for up to six months from inception. Banks must submit prescribed notifications and supporting documents before implementing any relief measures and file supplemental Financial Reporting Package and Capital Adequacy Ratio reports on availed relief in line with existing reporting timelines, with detailed electronic submission guidance to follow in a separate issuance. The circular also temporarily relaxes identification presentation requirements for non-account-opening transactions during a declared state of calamity, subject to conditions including a PHP 50,000 daily transaction cap and enhanced monitoring with suspicious transaction reporting to the Anti-Money Laundering Council, with duration linked to the calamity declaration or a default three-month period if none is specified. Separately, until 31 December 2027, banks not yet registered with PhilPaSSPlus and or not yet enrolled in the currency management system may withdraw currency directly from Bangko Sentral regional offices and branches under specified documentation, notice, and security requirements, with banks expected to transition to currency management system-based processing by the end of the temporary period. The circular takes effect 15 calendar days following publication.

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