Phl banks equipped to identify sources of depositor wealth

Amid the Anti-Money Laundering Council's (AMLC) probe into officials tied to dubious flood control projects, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) said they implement measures to trace the sources of depositors' funds.

During a press conference marking the start of the 2nd year of BPI Wealth Wellness Month, Maria Therese Marcial, president and CEO of BPI Wealth, the asset and wealth management arm of Ayala-led BPI, spoke on behalf of the broader banking industry.

She emphasized the industry's compliance processes, stating, “For customers to be onboarded in any banking institution, there’s the ‘Know Your Customer’ or what we call KYC and AMLC checking. So, there are parameters that we look at. We look at the sources of wealth to check their profiles.” She said that the regulations implemented by all Philippine banks continue to improve and strengthen over the years, specifically the KYC procedure.

“In Fact, because of some gains made on that ground, this year, we are finally out of the greylist. It’s a very disciplined and systematic process before we onboard a customer,” she stressed.

Last February, the Philippines was delisted on AMLC’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s greylist in a bid to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Countries in the FATF greylist are placed under increased monitoring, a burdensome process for banks and other financial institutions that discourages correspondent banking relationships and international financial flows into the country.

On the other hand, Marcial said that an existing separate procedure and regulation of the AMLC called ‘politically exposed persons’ is being used by the country’s banks to check the wealth that is being entered in the country’s banks.

“There’s a higher level of enhanced due diligence. For BPI, as you know, we have internal procedures and have been very strict and circumspect when it comes to knowing and onboarding customers, as well as conducting due diligence,” according to the BPI official.

On Tuesday, the AMLC announced it had obtained another Court of Appeals order to freeze 836 bank accounts, 12 e-wallets, 24 insurance policies, 81 vehicles, and 12 properties—its most extensive asset freeze since the start of the flood control project investigation.

Atty. Matthew David, AMLC executive director, stressed by freezing a wide range of assets, such as bank accounts, e-wallets, vehicles, and properties, they are disrupting the financial channels used in corrupt activities.

“Our goal is straightforward: prevent stolen public funds from being dissipated and misused, recover them for the National Government, and ensure that those involved in money laundering are held accountable,” he said.