Section 31
SEC. 31. Section eighty-four of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 84. If losses have at any time been sustained by any banking institution equal to or exceeding the undivided profits on hand, no dividend shall be declared; and no dividend shall ever be declared by any such bank while it continues in banking operations to an amount greater than its net profits then on hand, deducting therefrom its losses and bad debts. All debts due to any such bank on which interest is past due and unpaid for a period of six months, unless the same are well secured and in process of collection, shall be considered bad debts within the meaning of this section. "The Monetary Board may fix, by regulation or by order in specific cases, the amount of reserves for bad debts or doubtful accounts or other contingencies. "Writing-off of loans and advances with an outstanding amount of one hundred thousand pesos or more shall require prior approval of the Monetary Board."