Newsletter Sep 2006: Philippines issues guidelines for Basel II adoption

MANILA – Philippines central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), intends to maintain the present minimum overall capital adequacy ratio of 10% for banks and quasi-banks when the country adopts the new Basel capital standard on July 1, 2007. This is one of the decisions approved by the BSP Monetary Board as part of the guidelines for local implemention of the new international standard (Basel II), aimed at bolstering the safety and soundness of banks. Although the Monetary Board (MB) approved the guidelines in June, they were only published in August.