The Senate will also find solutions to the problems of the banking industry following the scandal involving Bank of Saipan and the recent announcement of Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Corp. that it will close shop this year.
Senate President Paul A. Manglona, R-Rota, in an interview Thursday said the Senate Committee on Fiscal Affairs would draft a measure protecting small depositors and government funds.
“The committee is now doing that. We will be working with the Department of Commerce and the Attorney General’s Office to ensure that small depositors and government funds would not be vulnerable to such bank problems,” Manglona said.
He said the Senate will also revisit existing banking laws and find if these need amendments. One of these laws that they will review is P.L. 12-61, which was passed during the speakership of Benigno R. Fitial, who recently resigned as Bank of Saipan chairman. The law reduced from 110 to 100 percent the security that a bank must pledge in bank assets.
“We expect the committee to get into the bottom of this problem. People rely on their deposits which are mostly composed of retirement funds and salaries. And the Senate is very much concerned about their problems,” he said.
