The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have set a cap on the interest rates and other fees charged by lending and financial companies, together with their online lending platforms (OLPs).
The third memorandum circular of the SEC this year, which provides the guidelines on the ceiling of interest rates of OLPs, took effect Thursday (March 3).
The memo has set a nominal interest rate ceiling of 6% per month, an effective interest rate cap of 15% per month, and a penalty ceiling for late or non-payments of 5% per month.
Lending and financial companies that will violate the cap on interest rates and other fees may be penalized with a fine ranging from a minimum of P25,000 for the first offense up to P1 million for the third offense. – Report from Gillian Geronimo/AG-rir
