Republic Act No.

11211,
amending the BSP Charter
The following summarizes the salient points of Republic Act No. 11211 which
amended the Charter of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. It was signed into law
by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on 14 February 2019, published on 19 February
2019 and became effect
AMENDMENTS TO BSP CHARTER
1. Reinforcing corporate and financial viability 2. Strengthening monetary stability function 3.
Strengthening financial supervision function 4. Introducing financial reforms
5. Other amendments
REINFORCING CORPORATE AND FINANCIAL VIABILITY
1. Additional BSP capitalization of 1150 Billion (Section 2)
• It will be funded solely from the declared dividends of BSP.
2. Restoration of tax exemption (Section 125) Exemption from all national, provincial, municipal
and city taxes, fees, charges and assessments on income derived from governmental functions
3. Allowing the set up of allowances and provisions for contingencies in the computation of
profits and losses, and set up of a BSP Reserve Fund (Section 43 and New Section 43-A)
• Establish allowances and provisions for depreciation in assets and contingencies, as well as set
up of reserve fund to mitigate future risk and for the preservation of BSP’s financial soundness.
4. Enhancements to credit operations (New Sections 88-A, 88-B, 88-Cand 88-D)
• Exemption of collaterals from attachments, executions and other restrictions
• Deputization of Legal Staff in foreclosure cases
• Take possession of foreclosed property without posting a bond
• Unsecured claims shall be considered preferred credits

STRENGTHENING MONETARY STABILITY FUNCTION

1. Restoration of authority to obtain data from any private person/entity (Section23) For
statistical and policy development purposes; disaggregated data are subject to prevailing
confidentiality laws 2. Restoration of authority to issue negotiable certificates of
indebtedness even during normal times (Section 92)
• Removal of the condition that the issuance by the BSP of certificates of indebtedness shall be
made only in cases of extraordinary movement in price level 3. Recognition of broader set of
indicators, aside from monetary aggregates, as guiding principles in monetary administration
(Sections 61 and 63)

FORMAL RECOGNITION OF FINANCIAL STABILITY IN BSP MANDATE (SECTION 3)

• Express mandate for BSP to promote financial stability
• BSP to work closely with other relevant bodies

OVERSIGHT OF PAYMENTS AND SETTLEMENTS SYSTEM/ OPERATORS (SECTION 3)

Express provision for BSP to oversee payment and settlement systems in the Philippines In
conjunction with Republic Act No. 11127 or “The National Payment Systems Act”

STRENGTHENING FINANCIAL SUPERVISION FUNCTION

1. Coordination with BSP before licenses of banks and supervised entities may be revoked by
other government agencies (New Section 28-A)
2. Expansion of BSP’s supervisory authority
• Including additional entities under its supervision (Section 3)
• Money service businesses, credit granting businesses and payment system operators 3.
Mechanism to resolve issues raised by banks arising from
examination (Section 25)
4.Requiring approvals for transfers or acquisitions of at
least 10% of the voting shares in banks or quasi-banks (New Section 25-A) 5. Strengthening of
administrative and criminal sanctions Increase in administrative and criminal sanctions (Section
36)
• Fines for transactional violation – 11 Million (Section 37)
• Fines for violations of a continuing nature – 1100,000 per calendar day (Section 37)
• When profit is gained or loss is avoided – a fine of no more than 3 times the profit gained or
loss avoided (Section 37) • Imposition upon subsidiaries and affiliates engaged in allied
undertaking, as well as other entities subject to BSP supervision under special laws (Section 37)
• Informer’s reward – 11 Million (Section 36) 6. Enhancing recovery and resolution mechanisms
to deal with problematic financial institutions upon notification of institution (Section 30) Banks
prohibited from doing business will be immediately placed under liquidation; no more
receivership
• Includes NSSLAs among those that may be placed under receivership; the receiver to be
designated by the BSP 7. Allow full flexibility to conduct risk-based supervision • Banks are
now required to hold capital beyond the minimum requirements (Section 108)
• No more yearly examinations; now based on guidelines set by the Monetary Board (Sections 25
and 28) Annual fee will take into account the cost of supervisions (Section 28) 8. Legal
protection for BSP officials and staff when performing official duties
• Inclusion of a free and harmless clause for BSP officials and staff (Section 16)
• BSP officials will now exercise the same diligence as exercised by other government agencies
(Section 16)

OTHER AMENDMENTS
1. Financial facilities for Islamic banks (New Section 89-A) 2. Increase in the number of Deputy
Governors from three (3) to five (5)(Section 21)
3. Provision on issuance of provisional remedies against BSP actions which is an enhancement
of Section 25 of Rep.Act No. 7653 (New Section 38-A)
4. Provision on the authority of the Monetary Board to waive
reserve deficiency penalties (Section 101)
5. Provision on the authority of BSP to accept deposits from
supervised entities (Section 113)
6. Inclusion of exemptions from the prohibition on BSP to acquire shares and participate in the
management of an enterprise (Section 128)
BENEFITS TO FILIPINOS
• Preserves purchasing power
• Funds are safely entrusted in financial system
• Supports financial inclusion, consumer protection, and inclusive growth