The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is granting a 60-day grace period to all banks with rediscounting loans, part of the package of relief measures given to banks and their clients who were affected by tropical storm “Ondoy.”

BSP Governor-in-Charge Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. in a memo said the two-month payment suspension will apply to banks with rediscounting obligations as of September 28.

This will cover all rediscounting banks with head office or with branches or with end-user borrowers in the affected areas except those with serious violations of findings with the BSP’s supervision and examination sector, said Espenilla.

“(We will also) allow the rediscounting banks to restructure with the BSP on a case-to-case basis the outstanding rediscounted loans of their end-user borrowers affected by the calamity, subject to the terms and conditions stated in the implementing guidelines,” he stated in the memo released Thursday.

BSP’s rediscounting loans in the first eight months reached P117.12 billion, 8.3 percent higher than the previous tally. Of this amount -- available to commercial, thrift and rural banks --- about 63.4 percent were commercial credits, 3.2 percent went to agricultural and industrial credits, and 33.4 percent were considered were divided between loans to services, capital expenditures, permanent working capital, housing and microfinance.

The BSP’s Monetary Board approved last October 2 six regulatory relief to banks with branches in areas hit by Ondoy.

The relief measures include the exclusion of existing loans of borrowers in affected areas from the computation of past due ratios (from September 26 to December 31, 2010) provided these are restructured or given relief and the suspension of penalties for delays in the submission of supervisory reports due in November. The BSP is also reducing to one percent from five percent the general loan loss provision for restructured loans of borrowers in the affected areas.