BDO named 1st Pera administrator

BDO UNIBANK has become the first institution in the country to obtain accreditation as an administrator of collective savings instruments governed by the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (Pera) Act of 2008.

In a statement, BDO said its trust unit had hurdled the stringent qualification requirements of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to become the country’s first accredited Pera administrator.

“BDO believes that being the first Pera administrator is a distinct privilege. This will allow BDO to further promote its advocacy for financial inclusion. It is also a great responsi- bility and thus, we have to see to it that it is properly implemented,” said Ador Abrogena, BDO executive vice president and trust officer.

Pera is the Philippine version of similar laws covering retirement savings vehicles in more developed countries. It establishes the legal and regulatory framework for voluntary personal retirement plans as a means to promote savings mobilization, capital market development and long-term fiscal sustainability.

This framework also affords employers an opportunity to become agents in promoting savings mobilization and also provides Filipinos a means to supplement their future pension benefits from the state-controlled Social Security System and Government Insurance System.

BDO Trust has P714.48 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of end-August, the largest among Philippine banks. Its AUM as big as the total asset size of banks outside the country’s top three. Main bank BDO has total resources breaching P2 trillion.

The Pera Act was signed into law in 2008. Subsequently, Pera implementing rules and regulations were issued in 2009 by various regulatory bodies. These were further detailed by regulatory issuances by the BSP and the BIR.