(NAR) VOL. 9 NO. 4 / OCTOBER - DECEMBER 1998
"No application for the establishment of branches shall be accepted by the Bangko Sentral from a bank which has eight (8) and five (5) approved but unopened branches for expanded commercial banks/commercial banks and thrift banks, respectively. Applications which may be accepted at any given time from a bank shall be in such number that if all these applications were approved, the applicant bank shall not have approved but unopened branches in excess of the limits herein prescribed.SECTION 2. Subsections 1151.4 and 2151.4 of the Manual are hereby amended to read, as follows:
"The herein prescribed limits shall be applied prospectively and shall not include branches approved and unopened prior to the effectivity of this Circular: Provided, however, that any approved but unopened branches shall be opened within the six (6) months period and failing which such branch/es shall be included for purposes of determining compliance with the prescribed limit.
"Nothing herein shall operate to bar substitution of applications within the prescribed limit."
"Subsec. _151.4 Other requirements — In addition to the capital requirements for establishment of branches in Subsection _151.3, the following conditions shall be complied with:a. The bank during the last ninety (90) days immediately preceding the date of application has:
1) Not been deficient in its net worth-to-risk assets ratio;b. The bank has no net weekly reserve deficiency against deposit liabilities and deposit substitutes during the last twelve (12) weeks immediately preceding the date of application;
2) Complied with the ceilings on credit accommodations to directors, officers, stockholders and/or related interests; and
3) Complied with the liquidity floor on government deposits;
"Subsec.___1511.10 Sanctions — If a bank fails to submit any certification as required in these guidelines, or if any part of the certification submitted by the bank is found to be false, the following sanctions shall be imposed:without prejudice to the sanctions under Section 35 of Republic Act No. 7653."
1. On the Bank
Suspension for one (1) year of the privilege to establish and/or to open approved branches;
2. On the Responsible/Certifying Officer
A fine of P 5,000.00 per day from the deadline of the submission of the certification up to the time the certification was found to be not submitted, or from the time the certification was made up to the time the certification was found to be false, as the case may be, for each branch opened, transferred or closed,