SEC fines revoke lending license of Wealth and Personal Development

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revoked the certificate of authority (CA) of Wealth and Personal Development Lending, Inc. to operate as a lending company and imposed an administrative fine of more than P2 million against the company and its officers for its repeated failure to comply with reportorial requirements and alleged involvement in illegal activities.

In an order dated December 6, 2023, the SEC Financing and Lending Companies Division (FinLend) found that Wealth and Personal Development Lending has failed to submit several reports in compliance with Republic Act No. 9474, or the Lending Company Regulation Act (LCRA), and it’s Implementing Rules and Regulations, as well as other guidelines issued by the Commission.

Wealth and Personal Development Lending was ordered to pay a fine of P2 million for its repeated failure to submit reportorial requirements, plus P125,000 for its non-compliance with SEC Memorandum Circular No. 3, Series of 2022 (MC 3).

Its officers, including Rodolfo B. Mayo, Jr., president, and chairman; Romelito B. Mayo, vice president, and board member; Ma. Victoria M. Porlucas, treasurer and board member; Jo-Ann G. Domingo, secretary, and board member; and Ney S. Atadero, board member, were likewise ordered to pay P50,000 each for failing to ensure that the company was compliant with the law.

The LCRA provides that lending companies shall pay an annual fee no later than 45 days before the anniversary date of their CA. They must also submit a general information sheet (GIS), annual financial statements (AFS), and Special Forms for Financial Statements.

However, records of FinLend show that the company has belatedly paid its annual fee for the years 2017 and 2018, and has no longer made payments since 2019. No submissions were likewise made for its GIS since 2021; AFS since 2019; and Special Forms for Financial Statements from 2019 up to the present.

“The continuous failure of the [company] to submit its GIS, AFS, and Special Forms for Financial Statements amounts to non-compliance with the LCRA-IRR, SEC requirements, and orders warranting the revocation of its authority,” the revocation order read.

FinLend noted that since its last AFS submission in 2019, no record shows that the company continued its operation as a lending company. Instead, a resolution issued by the House of Representatives was found, indicating the company’s alleged involvement in a drug buy-bust operation conducted by the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group.

In addition, Wealth and Personal Development failed to comply with reportorial requirements set under SEC Memorandum Circular No. 18, Series of 2019 (MC 18), and MC 3.

MC 18, or the Prohibition on Unfair Debt Collection Practices of Financing and Lending Companies, requires lending companies to submit a sworn certification stating that the company has complied with the guidelines within 30 days. Wealth and Personal Development Lending failed to submit such a statement.

It was also unable to submit a business plan and impact evaluation report provided under MC 3, which implemented Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular

No. 1133 Series of 2021 on the Ceiling/s on Interest Rates and Other Fees charged by lending companies, financing companies, and their online lending platforms. ### (PR)