July 17, 2016
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it will strengthen regulations on non-bank financial institutions to make the industry players comply with anti-money laundering measures. Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said the move was in line with the move to prevent the recurrence of money laundering activities in the country, the latest of which involved $81 million that was believed stolen by cyber thieves from the account of Bank of Bangladesh in the Federal Reserve in New York.
“We are reviewing Circular 471 which is the regulation on non-bank financial institutions which includes remittance businesses…. So we are upgrading the regulations,” Espenilla told reporters. “It is under exposure right now, so we are taking industry comments. We are tightening the oversight over non-bank financial institutions such as remittance businesses, money changers and foreign exchange dealers,” Espenilla said, adding that it would “also reflect the recent experience.”