CHAPTER IV

INSTRUMENTS OF BANGKO SENTRAL ACTION

ARTICLE VII - BANK RESERVES
SECTION 94. Reserve Requirements. In order to control the volume of money created
by the credit operations of the banking system, all banks operating in the Philippines shall
be required to maintain reserves against their deposit liabilities: Provided, That the
Monetary Board may, at its discretion, also require all banks and/or quasi-banks to
maintain reserves against funds held in trust and liabilities for deposit substitutes as
defined in this Act. The required reserves of each bank shall be proportional to the
volume of its deposit liabilities and shall ordinarily take the form of a deposit in the
Bangko Sentral. Reserve requirements shall be applied to all banks of the same category
uniformly and without discrimination.
Reserves against deposit substitutes, if imposed, shall be determined in the same manner
as provided for reserve requirements against regular bank deposits, with respect to the
imposition, increase, and computation of reserves.
The Monetary Board may exempt from reserve requirements deposits and deposit
substitutes with remaining maturities of two (2) years or more, as well as interbank
borrowings.
Since the requirement to maintain bank reserves is imposed primarily to control the
volume of money, the Bangko Sentral shall not pay interest on the reserves maintained
with it unless the Monetary Board decides otherwise as warranted by circumstances.
SECTION 95. Definition of Deposit Substitutes. The term "deposit substitutes" is
defined as an alternative form of obtaining funds from the public, other than deposits,
through the issuance, endorsement, or acceptance of debt instruments for the borrower's
own account, for the purpose of relending or purchasing of receivables and other
obligations. These instruments may include, but need not be limited to, bankers
acceptances, promissory notes, participations, certificates of assignment and similar
instruments with recourse, and repurchase agreements. The Monetary Board shall
determine what specific instruments shall be considered as deposit substitutes for the
purposes of Section 94 of this Act: Provided, however, That deposit substitutes of
commercial, industrial and other non-financial companies for the limited purpose of
financing their own needs or the needs of their agents or dealers shall not be covered by
the provisions of Section 94 of this Act.
SECTION 96. Required Reserves Against Peso Deposits. The Monetary Board may
fix and, when it deems necessary, alter the minimum reserve ratios to peso deposits, as
well as to deposit substitutes, which each bank and/or quasi-bank may maintain, and such
ratio shall be applied uniformly to all banks of the same category as well as to quasibanks.

SECTION 97. Required Reserves Against Foreign Currency Deposits. The Monetary
Board is similarly authorized to prescribe and modify the minimum reserve ratios
applicable to deposits denominated in foreign currencies.
SECTION 98. Reserves Against Unused Balances of Overdraft Lines. In order to
facilitate Bangko Sentral control over the volume of bank credit, the Monetary Board
may establish minimum reserve requirements for unused balances of overdraft lines.
The powers of the Monetary Board to prescribe and modify reserve requirements against
unused balances of overdraft lines shall be the same as its powers with respect to reserve
requirements against demand deposits.
SECTION 99. Increase in Reserve Requirements. Whenever in the opinion of the
Monetary Board it becomes necessary to increase reserve requirements against existing
liabilities, the increase shall be made in a gradual manner and shall not exceed four
percentage points in any thirty-day period. Banks and other affected financial institutions
shall be notified reasonably in advance of the date on which such increase is to become
effective.
SECTION 100. Computation on Reserves. The reserve position of each bank or quasibank shall be calculated daily on the basis of the amount, at the close of business for the
day, of the institution's reserves and the amount of its liability accounts against which
reserves are required to be maintained: Provided, That with reference to holidays or nonbanking days, the reserve position as calculated at the close of the business day
immediately preceding such holidays and non-banking days shall apply on such days.
For the purpose of computing the reserve position of each bank or quasi-bank, its
principal office in the Philippines and all its branches and agencies located therein shall
be considered as a single unit.
SECTION 101. Reserve Deficiencies. Whenever the reserve position of any bank or
quasi-bank, computed in the manner specified in the preceding section of this Act, is
below the required minimum, the bank or quasi-bank shall pay the Bangko Sentral onetenth of one percent (1/10 of 1%) per day on the amount of the deficiency or the
prevailing ninety-one-day treasury bill rate plus three percentage points, whichever is
higher: Provided, however, That banks and quasi-banks shall ordinarily be permitted to
offset any reserve deficiency occurring on one or more days of the week with any excess
reserves which they may hold on other days of the same week and shall be required to
pay the penalty only on the average daily deficiency during the week. In cases of abuse,
the Monetary Board may deny any bank or quasi-bank the privilege of offsetting reserve
deficiencies in the aforesaid manner.
If a bank or quasi-bank chronically has a reserve deficiency, the Monetary Board may
limit or prohibit the making of new loans or investments by the institution and may
require that part or all of the net profits of the institution be assigned to surplus.

The Monetary Board may modify or set aside the reserve deficiency penalties provided in
this section, for part or the entire period of a strike or lockout affecting a bank or a quasibank as defined in the Labor Code, or of a national emergency affecting operations of
banks or quasi-banks. The Monetary Board may also modify or set aside reserved
deficiency penalties for rehabilitation program of a bank.
SECTION 102. Interbank Settlement. The Bangko Sentral shall establish facilities for
interbank clearing under such rules and regulations as the Monetary Board may prescribe:
Provided, That the Bangko Sentral may charge administrative and other fees for the
maintenance of such facilities.
The deposit reserves maintained by the banks in the Bangko Sentral in accordance with
the provisions of Section 94 of this Act shall serve as basis for the clearing of checks and
the settlement of interbank balances, subject to such rules and regulations as the
Monetary Board may issue with respect to such operations: Provided, That any bank
which incurs on overdrawing in its deposit account with the Bangko Sentral shall fully
cover said overdraft, including interest thereon at a rate equivalent to one-tenth of one
percent (1/10 of 1%) per day or the prevailing ninety-one-day treasury bill rate plus three
percentage points, whichever is higher, not later than the next clearing day: Provided,
further, That settlement of clearing balances shall not be effected for any account which
continues to be overdrawn for five (5) consecutive banking days until such time as the
overdrawing is fully covered or otherwise converted into an emergency loan or advance
pursuant to the provisions of Section 84 of this Act: Provided, finally, That the
appropriate clearing office shall be officially notified of banks with overdrawn balances.
Banks with existing overdrafts with the Bangko Sentral as of the effectivity of this Act
shall, within such period as may be prescribed by the Monetary Board, either convert the
overdraft into an emergency loan or advance with a plan of payment, or settle such
overdrafts, and that, upon failure to so comply herewith, the Bangko Sentral shall take
such action against the bank as may be warranted under this Act.
SECTION 103. Exemption from Attachment and Other Purposes. Deposits maintained
by banks with the Bangko Sentral as part of their reserve requirements shall be exempt
from attachment, garnishments, or any other order or process of any court, government
agency or any other administrative body issued to satisfy the claim of a party other than
the Government, or its political subdivisions or instrumentalities.