Sarangani bank closure surprises depositors

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The closure of one of the oldest rural banks here caught its depositors by surprise as there had been no indication it was in financial trouble.

The monetary board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has announced that it has placed Sarangani Rural Bank (SRB) under the receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC).

Just four months ago, SRB celebrated its 55th anniversary, which was taken as a sign by its more than 2,000 depositors that nothing was wrong.

Based on records, SRB has total deposit liabilities of P45.57 million.

Most of SRB’s depositors are market vendors, who often use their savings to sustain their livelihood.

“A total of 2,407 deposit accounts or 99.99 percent of the accounts have balances of P500,000 or less and are fully covered by deposit insurance,” PDIC said in a statement.

It said SRB’s total insured deposits amounted to P44.80 million or 98.3 percent of total deposits. Aquiles Z. Zonio, Inquirer Mindanao