President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently signed into law the Republic Act No. 9576 that aimed to increase the minimum deposit coverage provided by the Philippine Deposit Insurance corporation (PDIC) from its maximum deposit of P250,000 to P500,000.

PGMA signed it yesterday, April 29, 2009 during the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Investor’s Recognition day at the World Trade Center, Pasay City.

The new law was created to encourage depositors to keep their deposits in the bank to be protected in the midst of economic crisis. The new law will also keep the PDIC fiannciall and operationally strong to fulfill its task and mandate.

the law also gives regulatory and administravtive authority to PDIC to monitor and prescribed which deposit products (such as bonds, trust accounts, securities, fictitious accounts, etc.) covered by the insurance and trhe government which the PDIC provides.

The PDIC has now the authority to conduct investigations and examinations of banks and may even inquire deposit accounts to minimize the risk to the deposit Insurance Fund (DIF).

More enhanced leagl protection is also given to the directors, officers, employees and agents of PDIC from any unfounded and malicious prosecution arising from their performance and duties.

The PDIC also has given authority to reorganize their organizational structure to conform with the new law.

The best banks in the Philippines were unveiled based on their services, assets and deposits. It seems like the new reigning number 1 is not a surprise to everyone, and many think that it will stay on top in years to come!

Banco De Oro (BDO) is now the largest bank in the country in terms of assets and deposits ousting Metrobank as the reigning bank in 2007. BDO’s success is primarily due to the merge of Banco de Oro and Equitable-PCI Bank in 2006 and the number of its outlet in all SM Malls in the country. BDO also offers longer service hours compared to other banks in the country, they are open at 9:00am and closes at 7:00 pm, and even had Saturday offices in chosen outlets. BDO can be found almost everywhere, from SM malls to busy districts in the city and municipalities across the nation. No wonder how they dethrone big banking competitors.

Here’s the complete list of top banks in the country today, in terms of assets and deposits:

Assets

1. Banco de Oro (BDO) - Php808.0 billion  (Last year’s #2)
2. Metrobank - Php758.5 billion (Last year’s #1)
3. Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) - Php658.4 billion (Last year’s number #3)
4. Landbank of the Philippines - Php434.0 billion (Last year’s #4)
5. Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) – Php290.9 billion (Last year’s #5)
6. Philippine National Bank (PNB) - Php276.8 billion (Last year’s #6)
7. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) - PhP270.2 billion (Last year’s #7)
8. Unionbank of the Philippines - Php208.2 billion (Lat year’s #9)
9. Chinabank- Php207.3 billion (Last year’s #10)
10. Citibank- Php187.8 billion (Last year’s #8)

Deposits

1. BDO - Php634.3 billion (Last year’s #3)
2. Metrobank - Php585.8 billion (Last year’s #1)
3. BPI - Php541.2 billion (Last year’s #2)
4. Landbank - Php333.6 billion (Last year’s #4)
5. PNB - Php201.2 billion – (Last year’s #5)
6. RCBC - Php196.4 billion – (Last year’s #6)
7. Chinabank - Php173.9 billion –(Last year’s #8)
8. Unionbank - Php162.0 billion –(Lat year’s #10)
9. Allied Bank - Php139.8 billion – (Last year’s #9)
10. Citibank - Php121.6 billion – (Last year’s #7)

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Getting into business is one great option if we want to earn more income, either it is small or big. However, it is not easy to put up a business, you have to take risks and under go some adjustments especially if you’re going to start from scratch.

Franchising business is said to be a great way to get into business. In just a certain amount, you can start with your own business  as easy as 1-2-3. Franchising comes in different packages depending on the kind of business. Have you seen food kiosk in LRT/MRT Stations and even in Malls? those are all franchise. And mind you, the earnings per day is enormous!

Here are the reasons why you should choose to go franchising:

• Most of the Franchise business has a name for itself already, you don’t have to go over advertise (ie. Jolibee, Siomai House,7 Eleven)
• It comes with a package deal
• The Franchiser will be the one who will look for a perfect location (or if you have your location in mind, you can suggest and talk about it)
• Some franchiser includes hiring of laborers as part of the package including their uniforms (ie. Siomai House)
• Food Franchise are less cheaper, most of this food kiosks are famous because it caters pinoy and street foods.
• You can choose from variety of franchise like coffee shop, computer shop, bakery, pawnshop, fast food, food kiosks, RTW, etc.
• Franchiser will help you get started from business processing to advertising.
• Free seminars and trainings fro franchisee and its employee.
• Space rents is cheaper (depending on the location) LRT/MRT Station space rents costs P900 per day.
• Franchising costs P50,000-P4,000,000.

If you want a secure business, then choose franchising. In franchising, you don’t have to start from scratch, the business is already established long before you start!

If you have heard of UITF or mutual funds, then make sure you understand that past performance is not indicative of future results.

Last year when the stock market was riding on its wave of success, both Philamlife and Sun Life are bragging about the returns they provided to clients. Return are in double digits.

If you invested last year, then you’ll surely be disappointed just like me. Instead of earning high returns, these funds are earning huge losses. The best thing to do is to wait until the market recovers. And who knows when that would happen.

Again, another lesson learned the hard way.