THE Monetary Board has shuttered the Rural Bank of Mabitac in Laguna, the second lender to fold this year. A circular last Thursday by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ordered the bank, which operates 14 extension offices across Southern Luzon, to stop its operations. The bank also ran two branches in Candelaria and Infanta, Quezon. As of end-2018, it held P367.1 million in deposits across 45,807 accounts, of which P288.3 million or 78.52% are insured. Individual depositors with balances of up to P100,000 can seek early payments if they do not have outstanding obligations to the bank, while corporate clients and account owners with bigger positions must file claims with the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. The Mabitac bank joins the Bagong Bangko Rural ng Malabang in Lanao del Sur as the second bank to be closed by the BSP this year. BSP shuttered 12 banks last year. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez
