Philippines regulator beefs up monitoring of lending, financing firms

The Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is creating a financing and lending companies division to focus exclusively on the regulation and monitoring of these entities. SEC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Emilio B. Aquino said it has been rolling out a campaign against abusive lending companies after the commission received complaints from consumers about the firms’ collecting practices, which include threats and insults against borrowers. An SEC crackdown on abusive and illegal lending has led to the conviction of 76 individuals, based on eight cases of violations of the Lending Company Regulation Act (LCRA). Aquino said the commission had already revoked over 2,000 certificates of registration of lending companies that failed to secure their requisite certificate of authority pursuant to LCRA.