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FIST Act Ratified: Sen. Grace Poe presents the bicameral committee report on the disagreeing provisions on the Financial Institution Strategic Transfer (FIST) Act during the hybrid plenary session Tuesday, December 15, 2020. The chairperson of the Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, said among the agreements reached on the bill is to allow only the private sector to form FIST corporations and to lower the period of considering loans and other financial assets as non-performing loans to 90 days. “Mr. President, the FIST Act is seen to cushion the adverse impact of the pandemic to our financial sector. If passed into law, financial institutions will be able to offload non-performing assets, which will then promote investor and depositor confidence and mitigate the effects of the crisis. If our financial institutions are in good shape, they can help businesses and save jobs in return,” Poe said. The Senate later ratified the bicameral report on the FIST Act. (Screen grab/ Senate PRIB)