The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will be shifting to the Basel 2 Capital Adequacy Framework on July 1, it said. "As of press time, a parallel run of the Basel 2 reportorial framework with the existing report for Basel 1 is ongoing covering the quarters ending December 2006 until June 30 2007," BSP added. It was reported Friday that the industry’s total qualifying capital as of end-December 2006 had a mix of 87.72 percent or P330.8-billion T1 capital and 12.28 percent or P46.3-billion T2 capital. On consolidated basis, total qualifying capital is composed of P362.5-billion T1 capital (80.87 percent) and P85.7-billion T2 capital (19.13 percent). The capital adequacy ratio is a risk-sensitive measure of a bank’s solvency. It relates capital to assets weighted according to their relative riskiness. BSP Circular Nos. 280 and 360, both as amended, require all banks to maintain CAR of at least 10 percent both on solo basis (head office and branches) and consolidated basis (parent bank and subsidiary financial undertakings but excluding insurance companies) covering credit risk, and combined credit and market risks for commercial banks. The BSP issuances are based on the 1988 Basel Capital Accord (also known as Basel 1) and its 1996 Amendment prepared by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision based in Basel, Switzerland, with modifications to suit the local conditions.

Philippine Rating Services Corporation (PhilRatings), the pioneer domestic credit rating agency, has maintained a rating of "PRS Aa plus" for Philippine Savings Bank’s (PSB) P2-billion Unsecured Subordinated Debt (Tier-2). The firm said a rating of "PRS Aa plus" means the margins of protection may not be as large as in issues that are rated as PRS Aaa. "Fluctuations of protective elements may be of greater amplitude or there may be other elements present which make the long-term risks appear somewhat larger than for PRS Aaa-rated securities. PRS Aaa-rated issues are defined as those with the smallest degree of investment risk," PhilRatings said. In assigning the rating, PhilRatings said it considered PSBank’s strong market position in the consumer loan sector, consistent growth in its loan portfolio matched by a robust growth and stability in its deposits, good asset quality, and continued growth in earnings. PhilRatings likewise took into account PSBank’s improved capital base, wide geographical reach, and solid support from and synergies with its parent company. However, these strengths are counterbalanced by PSBank’s lower net interest margin due to higher cost of funding and the increase in the bank’s non-performing loans (NPL).

Liquigaz Philippines Corporation (LPC), the largest supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the Philippiness, joins the web of partnership between the private sector, government agencies, and the local community of Sitio Marina, Brgy. Alas-asin, Mariveles, Bataan, in an Artificial Reef (AR) Project conceived to address the problematic fishing practices in the area. "The program is Liquigaz Philippines’ initiative towards taking care of our environment, especially our marine life," states Liquigaz vice president Bong Pangilinan. "This, together with the LPC Scholarship program at the Bataan Polytechnic College is our response towards the call of corporate social responsibility." The AR Project is an extensive program that adopts a multi-stakeholder approach in harmonizing the concerns of the local community by providing funding, technical assistance and manpower. The project will install artificial reefs made of concrete in selected areas of the marine environment to create new marine life communities that will increase the productivity of fish and other organisms. This will result in the rehabilitation and protection of marine habitat, a solution to the dwindling fish-catch of small-scale fishermen.

Krispy Kreme, the American doughnut franchise, opens its third store in the Philippines on Thursday, June 28, at the Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan, Metro Manila. Owned and operated by the Real American Doughnut Co., the Philippine development rights holder of the popular doughnut brand, Krispy Kreme Greenhills is also the first drive-thru outlet in Asia, and the first free-standing store in the Philippines. The first two branches are located in Bonifacio High Street in The Fort, Taguig City, and at SM Megamall. Jim Fuentebella, chair of Real American Doughnut, said they are, committed to open 30 stores in grade A, high traffic and thickly-populated outlets in the next five years. Other upcoming stores are in Makati and the new Trinoma mall in North EDSA, Quezon City. Each store requires an investment of million to build, add to that the imported equipment and premixes that are necessary to open an outlet.