Eli M Remolona: Off to the next 75 - celebrating 75 years of central
banking in the Philippines
Speech by Mr Eli M Remolona, Jr, Governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP, the
central bank of the Philippines), at the 75th anniversary of central banking in the
Philippines and 31st anniversary of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Manila, 3 July 2024.
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Introduction
Monetary Board [Members] Benjamin Diokno, Lea De Leon, and Romy Bernardo;
Deputy Governors Chuchi Fonacier, Francisco Dakila Jr., Mamerto Tangonan, Eduardo
Bobier, and Bernadette Romulo-Puyat; our BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) family;
guests, magandang umaga po!
Happy 75th anniversary!
First 75 Years
After this ceremony, we will officially open the anniversary exhibit in the lobby. The
exhibit is modeled after the [La] Intendencia in Intramuros, our first home.
All 100 staff of the Central Bank [of the Philippines] at that time, could fit comfortably
there. Medyo mapapayat kasi tayo noon.
Their main concerns were a change in our currency system and working with the
government and banking sector to lift the country out of the devastation of World War II.
Since then, the Central Bank and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have played a leading
role in navigating the financial sector and the economy through various challenges,
some global and some home-grown.
The most recent challenges have been the COVID pandemic and the surge in inflation
driven by global supply shocks. These were crises that had not happened for over a
hundred years.
As the Central Bank did after World War II, the BSP lent the government massive
amounts of money during the pandemic. We slashed interest rates to a record low [of]
two percent. We imposed moratoriums on interest payments. We helped the growth of
e-payments to counter lockdowns. Then, as inflation rose, we raised policy rates to their
highest in 17 years.
Today, inflation is poised to return to our target range while economic growth is among
the fastest in the world.
But crises are not all that define us. Some of our most important work happens
incrementally over years and decades. With diligence and technology, we have
improved supervision to the point that we have not had a major bank failure in more
than 20 years.
With diligence and technology, we have helped create a payment system that enabled
businesses to expand and create jobs, and that makes all our lives more convenient.
All of these we have accomplished because of you. You can, and you should be proud
of what you and your predecessors have given the country.
On to the next 75
Over the next 75 years, our work will remain as important, if not more so. Three areas
stand out: sustainability, digitalization, and the deepening of our capital markets.
On sustainability, the BSP will play a growing role in protecting the present and future
generations and the world they live in. Our geography makes us especially vulnerable
to climate change.
We are seeking that kind of sustainable finance that would help our people adapt to the
physical risks of a worsening climate. Indeed, we are working with other agencies to
harmonize policies in order to accelerate such sustainable finance.
On digitalization, we will continue to push digital payments as a pathway to financial
inclusion. We will foster the Open Finance approach to give more Filipinos better
access and better choices in credit, pensions, and other financial services.
We will also harness the power of artificial intelligence for our own work in the BSP.
Artificial intelligence promises to allow us to digest quickly vast amounts of information
to support monetary policy and banking supervision.
Finally, we are renewing our efforts at deepening our capital markets. This will not only
have enhanced investments for our economy, but will also strengthen the transmission
mechanism of monetary policy.
Meanwhile, we at the government are working to achieve the investment grade status
that will bring in a new wave of investors.
Upholding the principles
When I took my oath as Governor last year, I talked about pagpapatuloy and
pagpapabuti.
As we mark the 75th year of central banking in the country, it is a good time to remind
ourselves of a third P: prinsipyo.
Amid pagpapatuloy and pagpapabuti-forward and upward-we should remind ourselves
of our immovable, unchanging principles. We must live them as fully as our
predecessors did when we were new and much smaller at the Intendencia.
Our principles remain: integrity, excellence, solidarity, accountability, and patriotism. I
know that patriotism lives in your hearts. I hear you singing it in the BSP anthem, whose
final words are "puso at diwa [ay] sa bayan."
These are the principles that have guided our decisions and actions for 75 years. They
are what will guide us on to the next 75.
Maraming salamat! Mabuhay tayo at mabuhay ang BSP!