Be It Enacted by The Senate and The House of Representatives of The Philippines in Congress Assembled
Be It Enacted by The Senate and The House of Representatives of The Philippines in Congress Assembled
Be It Enacted by The Senate and The House of Representatives of The Philippines in Congress Assembled
Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the nineteenth day of February,
and two thousand seven.
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9474 May 22, 2007
AN
ACT
GOVERNING
THE
ESTABLISHMENT,
OPERATION
AND
investment
houses,
savings
and
loan
associations,
more
than
nineteen
(19)
lenders
through
the
issuance,
(P1,000,000.00):
Provided,
however,
That
lending
companies
established and in operation prior thereto shall comply with the minimum
capitalization required under the provisions of this Section within such time
as may be prescribed by the SEC which time shall, in no case, be less than
three years from the date of effectivity of this Act and: Provided, further,
That the SEC may prescribe a higher minimum capitalization if warranted by
circumstances.
Sec. 6. Citizenship Requirements. - Upon the effectivity of this Act, at
least a majority of the voting capital stock shall be owned by citizens of the
Philippines.
The percentage of foreign-owned voting stock in any lending company
existing prior to the effectivity of this Act, if such percentage is in excess of
forty-nine percent (49%) of the voting stock, shall not be increased but may
be reduced and, once reduced, shall not be increased thereafter beyond
forty-nine percent (49%) of the voting stock of the lending company. The
percentage of foreign-owned voting stocks in any lending company shall be
determined by the citizenship of the individual stockholders. In the case of
corporations owning shares in a lending company, the citizenship of the
Board, in consultation with the SEC and the industry, may prescribe such
interest rate as may be warranted by prevailing economic and social
conditions.
Sec. 8. Maintenance of Books of Accounts and Records. - Every
lending company shall maintain books of accounts and records as may be
required by the SEC and prescribed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and
other government agencies. In case a lending company engages in other
businesses, it shall maintain separate books of accounts for these
businesses.
The Manual of Accounts prescribed by the BSP for lending investors shall
continue to be adopted by lending companies for uniform recording and
reporting of their operations, until a new Manual of Accounts shall have been
prescribed by the SEC.
Sec. 11. Delineation of Authority between SEC and the BSP. - Lending
companies shall be under the supervision and regulation of the SEC:
Provided, however, That lending companies which are subsidiaries and
affiliates of banks and quasi-banks shall be subject to BSP supervision and
examination in accordance with Republic Act No. 7653: Provider further, That
the Monetary Board, after being satisfied that there is reasonable ground to
believe that a lending company is being used as a conduit by a bank, quasibank or their subsidiary/affiliate to circumvent or violate BSP rules and
regulations, may order an examination of the lending company's books and
accounts.
Sec. 12. Penalty. - A fine of not less than Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00)
and not more than Fifty thousand pesos(P50,000.00) or imprisonment of not
less than six months but not more than ten (10) years or both, at the
discretion of the court, shall be imposed upon:
1. Any person who shall engage in the business of a lending company
without a validly subsisting authority to operate from the SEC.
2. The president, treasurer and other officers of the corporation,
including the managing officer thereof, who shall knowingly and
willingly:
a. Engage in the business of a lending company without a validly
subsisting authority to operate from the SEC;
paper,
or
other
document,
or
through
other
Knowingly
and
willingly
make
any
statement
in
any
rules
and
regulations,
or
provisions
thereof
which
are
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or
modified accordingly.
Sec. 15. Separability Clause. - If any portion hereof shall be held invalid
or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the
other provisions which shall remain in full force and effect.
Sec. 16. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two national newspapers of general circulation.