Hi all, I'm just reviewing our banking arrangements. I have two concerns: 1) the deposit insurance for resident aliens, and 2) getting access to the monies from abroad, preferably the UK. 1) I have checked out the PDIC website and I can't see anything regarding the residency/citizenship requirements that would qualify for the P500k limit. I will become (hopefully!) permanent resident shortly (currently probationary resident) and whilst I have no intention of going anywhere near that limit, it would bring peace of mind to know that if the bank closed the monies would eventually be returned. Does anybody have any knowledge of regarding this? 2) I note that BPI and PNB have offices in London. I am wondering if I would be able to get access to monies held in the Philippines via the London offices or via the UK online banking system. Does anyone have any experience with this? Appreciate your help with these points guys.
Only know the answer to the first point. I 've asked the bank manager for the pdic stuff for my account. They did mention that the P500k is for each bank account holder and as far as they know, they dont care if its a ph citizen or a foreigner. I have known people who were able to get their savings from a bank that have closed due to bank run but make sure the bank is a registered and regulated by the BSP. I would suggest use bank which have big capitalization or trusted bank. I wouldnt feel safe if my account is with a certain 'rural bank of XYZ' or a start up bank. At the same time, to address your concern about becoming a permanent resident (if you mean UK citizen?) why not remedy it by getting dual citizenship after getting the UK one since ph allows for it.
Hi Maley, Thanks for your response. Yes I would only use one of the large national banks. I think it would be ok, however rules can also change. If it's a larger sum of money I might just put it in my wife's name. Regarding residency, I'm British. I am referring to becoming a permanent resident in the Philippines on the 13a Visa.
ahh okay, it make sense now. But yes, i dont think it would matter if you are natural born filipino or a citizen of another country. But as long as you are an account holder, pdic should cover savings and current account and i think including time deposits. I dont think you'd want to keep a lot of your money in ph (probably some spending amount) and leave the big chunk in uk since the insurance amount is significantly higher. Btw, check with bpi and pnb if they are covered by pdic. Since they are a branch in a foreign land, pdic is making it optional for the bank to include the deposits in the said branches. Most probably yes but better sure than sorry.
I can speak as a former resident who had some money in a bank that went bust in Cebu in 2008. Although there is nothing said to the contrary, I found that, in practice, PDIC does not honour claims made by foreigners. After that experience, I transferred a sizeable amount from my HSBC sterling savings account back to my UK savings account (also with HSBC) and simply transferred enough back to the Philippines to keep me going for the next month or so.
