Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Benjamin Diokno has urged Filipinos to use electronic payments amid the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, to minimize face-to-face transactions and prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Benjamin Diokno on Tuesday ordered a cut in the reserve requirement (RR) ratio of banks, effective March 30, 2020, to boost lending as the government grapples with the Covid-19 outbreak.
Warning of an economic downturn, the central bank on Thursday cut its policy rate and relaxed some regulations to help banks and businesses amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
At an official estimate of about P100 billion per 100-bps cut, the cumulative reduction on buffer funds would unleash P400 billion to the economy by December, an amount nearly matching this year’s P454.09-billion budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
In a statement, the central bank said its policy-making Monetary Board approved on Thursday a 100-basis-point (bps) reduction in bank reserve requirements to “increase domestic liquidity in support of credit activity.”