Central Bank of the Philippines sets annual supervision fee at 1/28 of 1% of average assessable assets for non-bank trust entities

The Central Bank of the Philippines (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, BSP) issued a circular amending its Manual of Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions to introduce an annual supervision fee for non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) with trust authority and to set out related collection procedures. The annual supervision fee applies starting with the reference year ended 31 December 2025 and the circular takes effect 15 calendar days after publication. An NBFI with trust authority must pay an annual supervision fee equal to one twenty-eighth (1/28) of one percent (1%) multiplied by its average assessable assets in the preceding year. Average assessable assets are the sum of month-end balances of total assessable assets divided by the number of months in operation during the assessment period, with total assessable assets defined as total assets under management by the trust department excluding securities held under custodianship. The fee is payable on or before 31 May each year, and non-payment within the prescribed period may result in administrative sanctions, including monetary penalties and potential suspension or revocation of authority to engage in trust and other fiduciary business or investment management activities. New Appendix N-25 provides that the BSP’s supervising department will issue a billing notice showing the computation, period covered and mode of payment. Institutions are encouraged to submit any billing exceptions with supporting documents no later than 10 banking days before the payment deadline, with late or unsubstantiated exceptions considered in the computation of the fee for the immediately succeeding year. The circular also states that NBFIs no longer need to withhold tax on annual supervision fee payments because supervisory fees are treated as tax-exempt income of the BSP.