Banking and Bank Products

Problems with BPI – Bank of the Philippine Islands

Dear Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI),

Here are two of your clients with two separate concerns.

One tried to withdraw cash in your ATM, got nothing because the machine did not dispense any but is still waiting, after two long weeks, for the amount to be credited back to the account.

The other allegedly got victimized by one of your very own bank managers. The client was expecting a remittance from another country, was told there were delays because of numerous problems, but discovered that the branch manager himself apparently took the money. Now, after four long months, the money has not yet been returned.

Pray, tell, BPI, why does it take you a long time to act on the following complaints?

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Swindling and fraud issues hound Legacy Group and Rural Bank of Paranaque

Recent updates:

The Legacy Financial Group and the Rural Bank of Paranaque (also called Banco Paranaque) of the famous double-your-money time deposit programs are now being thrown into the limelight following recent news articles that mention the bank’s supposed involvement in swindling, fake certificate of time deposits (CTDs) and extortion. The bank has come clean and denied all accusations.

Who between the accused and the accusers is telling the truth? How will this affect the high-yield time deposit placements of the bank’s depositors? Read the news stories below which were published in some local dailies and judge for yourself.

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Experiences investing in double-your-money programs in the Philippines

One hot topic in the PMT Forum these days is the discussion of double-your-money programs or 20%-per-annum time deposits offered by a few rural banks in the Philippines. In the article  Double-your-money investment schemes — are they for real? we mentioned that these "investments" are actually time deposits and, as such, are covered by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) up to P250,000 (US$5,300).

The discussion centers on whether this high-yield investment program is virtually risk-free due to the PDIC coverage. Consequently, some members have endorsed this double-your-money time deposit program while several others have raised issues against it.

After the jump you can read experiences posted by some PMT members who directly placed money into these offers.

Post your own experiences or join the discussion in the Rural banks offering 20% per annum thread.

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Double-your-money investment schemes — are they for real?

Several rural banks in the Philippines are offering time deposits that pay as much as 20% interest per annum, effectively doubling your money after five years. Because these are time deposits, they are supposedly covered by the PDIC up to P250,000.

So does that make it a high-yield but virtually risk-free investment?

Let us know by posting your thoughts in the Rural banks offering 20% per annum thread in the PMT Forum.

Here's what a few PMT members have to say about double-your-money time deposit investment offers:

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BPI Express Online: Detailed transaction history

Earlier this month, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) announced that users of its online banking facility will soon be able to see additional details of their transactions in their account history.

Today I logged in to my Express Online account and saw that BPI has already started implementing this. I’ve long waited for this one and even sent them last year a suggestion regarding this, so I’m glad they have finally adopted this.

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