Amending Act No. 2655 As Amended (Usury Law)

March 17, 1980

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1684

AMENDING FURTHER ACT NUMBERED TWO THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE USURY LAW"

WHEREAS, while the interest rate is an important monetary and credit policy instrument, changes in interest rate ceilings should not cause undue hardships on the various sectors of the economy;

WHEREAS, there may be a need under certain circumstances to effect changes in interest rate ceilings on a staggered basis;

WHEREAS, contractual stipulations providing for adjustments in the interest rate agreed upon in the event that there is a change in the legal rate of interest should benefit both the creditor and the debtor.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby declare and order the amendment of Act No. 2655, as amended, as follows:

 Section 1-a of Act No. 2655, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: aisa dc

"Sec. 1-a. The Monetary Board is hereby authorized to prescribe the maximum rate or rates of interest for the loan or renewal thereof or the forbearance of any money, goods or credits, and to change such rate or rates whenever warranted by prevailing economic and social conditions: Provided, That changes in such rate or rates may be effected gradually on scheduled dates announced in advance.

"In the exercise of the authority herein granted the Monetary Board may prescribe higher maximum rates for loans of low priority, such as consumer loans or renewals thereof as well as such loans made by pawnshops, finance companies and other similar credit institutions although the rates prescribed for these institutions need not necessarily be uniform. The Monetary Board is also authorized to prescribed different maximum rate or rates for different types of borrowings, including deposits and deposit substitutes, or loans of financial intermediaries."

SECTION 2. The same Act is hereby amended by adding a new section after Section 7, to read as follows: aisa dc

"Sec. 7-a. Parties to an agreement pertaining to a loan or forbearance of money, goods or credits may stipulate that the rate of interest agreed upon may be increased in the event that the applicable maximum rate of interest is increased by law or by the Monetary Board: Provided, That such stipulation shall be valid only if there is also a stipulation in the agreement that the rate of interest agreed upon shall be reduced in the event that the applicable maximum rate of interest is reduced by law or by the Monetary Board: Provided, further, That the adjustment in the rate of interest agreed upon shall take effect on or after the effectivity of the increase or decrease in the maximum rate of interest.

SECTION 3. All Acts and part of Acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. casia

SECTION 4. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 17th day of March, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 76 No. 15 Page 2416 on April 14, 1980.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 76 No. 20 Page 3197 on April 19, 1980.