BSP requires PHL banks to have social media risk management program

Philippine banks are now required to have a social media risk management program to protect it from possible reputational risks, among others. (Photo: Marc Di Luzio/Flickr)

MANILA—Philippine banks are now required to have a social media risk management program to protect it from possible reputational risks, among others.

This measure was approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas'(BSP) policy-making Monetary Board (MB) during its meeting on Feb 23, 2017.

The Circular issued for this purpose states that banks need to adopt a commensurate risk management mechanisms and governance structure to effectively identify, measure, manage and monitor risks from social media platforms.

The BSP, in a release, said this measure stresses additional dimensions on traditional risks such as legal, reputational, strategic, operational and on compliance.

It identified the additional risks as the growing threats on information security and fraud like account take-over, malware attacks, and phishing and spoofing schemes.

It said the issuance of a circular on social media risks management program was “timely and suitable” because of the rising number of Filipinos who were active in social media, now at around 47 percent of the over 100 million population.

“BSP recognizes that social media presents vast potential benefits and opportunities for greater economic advancement and financial inclusion. The guidelines ensure that the necessary safeguards, governance structure and standards are in place to effectively manage the associated risks,” it said.

The central bank said banks’ social media risk management program “should, at a minimum, be able to address potential reputational risks as well as provide guidance on acceptable use of social media by employees, whether for official or personal purposes.”

“BSFIs (BSP Supervised Financial Institutions), in formulating and implementing their social media policies, should see to it that existing rules and regulations on financial consumer protection, cyber-security, outsourcing and anti-money laundering, among others, are complied with,” it added.