Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has called on the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) to be prepared to constantly adapt to the changes brought about by rapid technological innovations as he lauded the state-owned firm for building public trust and confidence in the country’s banking system.

In providing credible insurance protection for depositors, the PDIC has played an important role in letting the banking system reach out to unbanked sectors and broaden the base of the Philippine financial system, Dominguez said.

Dominguez said PDIC’s record of excellence has been marked by the prudential management of the deposit insurance fund, the prompt settlement of deposit insurance claims and the immediate distribution of the assets of closed banks to their creditors

“Notwithstanding the high marks you have obtained by constant improvement of your own internal management, there are more things to be done. “Rapid advances in financial technologies require all of us to be on our toes,” Dominguez said in a speech delivered for him by Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin during the 55thanniversary celebration of the PDIC at its main office in Makati City.

Dominguez said technological changes are often disruptive, which is why the government needs to anticipate these disruptions and “need to have constantly adapting processes within all institutions in our financial sector.”

“I have no doubt the PDIC is appropriately inclined and sufficiently motivated to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing financial landscape,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez pointed out that the PDIC is one of the best-run government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), with a top score of 99.5 percent in the 2015 Corporate Governance Scorecard conducted by the Institute of Corporate Directors and a recipient of the Award of Excellence from the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG).

The PDIC has also maintained its ISO certification for two of its frontline services–the Claims Settlement Operations and the Assessment of Member-banks–and recently obtained a third certification standards for its Loan Management System.

Dominguez recalled that at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Stakeholders Awards last year, the PDIC was named Outstanding Financial Inclusion Partner.

“The list of awards for the corporation is a long one. Nevertheless, the PDIC continues relentlessly in its pursuit of excellence notwithstanding your Very Satisfactory rating for your frontline services,” Dominguez said.

He said the PDIC has likewise set an excellent benchmark to challenge other GOCCs, which is an important factor in raising the overall quality of governance in the country.

“We are trying to build a modern economy for our people. That is possible only if we are able to provide modern governance. On the part of our GOCCs, we are encouraging them to constantly undertake measures that will ensure transparent, responsible and innovative corporate governance,” Dominguez said.

“In particular, we are encouraging our banking system to reach out to the unbanked sections of our society and broaden the base of our financial system. That task requires credible insurance protection for depositors. I am happy to note that the PDIC is delivering precisely that assurance,” he added.

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