PSE president and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said the exchange will request the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS) to bring back the loan facility, but this time link it to the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) Law so borrowing is tied to voluntary retirement saving.
He also called the program a “game changer” for companies with 200 to 300 employees.
“Help us with this liquidity”
“I’m trying to convince them to restore that stock investment loan,” Monzon said in a recent press chat.
“I said [to GSIS president and PSE board member Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso] can you help us with this liquidity [problem],” Monzon said.
The program was popular in the 1990s but was later discontinued after the Asian financial crisis made stock investing unprofitable for many borrowers.
PERA adoption still small
Monzon said the new proposal is to have members place stock loan proceeds into PERA accounts and to encourage more companies to roll out PERA programs for employees, which he said will be raised for approval at the PSE’s next board meeting.
Data cited by DragonFi Securities showed PERA remains underused, despite being implemented nearly a decade ago.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
