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Announcements March 29, 2020

A Message to Bankers

Dear Fellow Bankers,

In the last two weeks, since the introduction of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (“ECQ”) in response to COVID-19, our member banks have taken extraordinary steps to continue to serve banking customers.

At the same time, the Bangko Sentral has reduced both the policy rate and reserve requirements, and has taken steps to ease the regulatory burden borne by banks.

The National Government, in turn, has passed the Bayanihan Act, which gives the executive branch extraordinary powers to address the current crisis.

As we move into week 3 of the ECQ, the impact of the crisis on the economy, including our corporate and consumer borrowers, is becoming more apparent. Thus, in this ECQ period, we ask our member banks to do their utmost to:

1. Maintain reasonable lending rates, with the objective of trying to keep such rates as close as possible to pre-ECQ levels;
2. Maintain a level of branch presence that allows for the execution of transactions that cannot be performed digitally;
3. Keep digital channels open;
4. Ensure availability of cash in your open branches and the majority of your ATMs; and
5. Contribute to stable and liquid financial markets.
Our country needs our very best efforts in these difficult times.

Thank you for your Bayanihan spirit!

Cezar P. Consing
President
Bankers Association of the Philippines