paper markets dried up. as the crisis intensified, the ecb launched innovative long - term repo operations, with wider collateral eligibility. and the ecb worked with the bank of england, the federal reserve and the bank of canada amongst others on a network of central bank swaps to make liquidity available in g10 currencies across a range of jurisdictions. the bank of england ’ s initial response was not as comprehensive as that of the ecb, not least because its framework for providing liquidity lagged market developments. once under pressure, the bank could neither stabilise overnight rates nor support the banking system. fortunately, in the jaws of the crisis, the bank innovated rapidly and admirably to avoid the collapse of the system. in 2013, following the winters review, we overhauled our facilities drawing on the ecb ’ s example and made it clear the bank was ‘ open for business ’. facilities were made cheaper, available at longer terms and all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / publications / pages / speeches / default. aspx against a much broader pool of collateral. we also begun a broadening access to our facilities both within the banking sector and beyond it to reach central counterparties and large broker dealers. the most recent addition to the toolkit came in march of this year when the bank launched a new liquidity facility in euros ( life ) as part of our brexit contingency planning. this is backstopped by the swap line between our two institutions, and underpinned by our open communications and effective supervisory cooperation. the life is a testament to the commitment of central banks to cooperate to secure the stability of the system to the benefit of all our citizens. liquidity facilities have not just been about firefighting. given the constraints of the effective lower bound ( elb ), lending facilities have been recast into stimulus tools. drawing on the 3 - year long - term refinancing operations ( ltros ) launched by ecb the previous year, the bank of england launched a funding for lending scheme ( fls ) in 2012, as the nascent recovery was threatened by a sharp rise in banks funding costs and subsequent tightening in credit conditions amid the euro - area crisis. the fls combined four year funding with sharp incentives to support lending to households and businesses. banks expanding lending were able to access the scheme for a 25bp fee, a sizeable discount to retail

: • promoting a stronger and more stable financial system ; • developing the domestic capital market to make it more supportive of investments growth ; and • providing easier access to funds by small and medium - sized businesses as well as micro enterprises. in addition, the bangko sentral will continue to foster an environment that will facilitate further disposal of banks ’ non - performing assets. other key financial reforms will be focused on aligning prudential regulation of the banking system with international standards and best practices, enhancing our payments system, as well as strengthening corporate governance standards and market discipline mechanisms. meanwhile, microfinance shall continue to be the bsp ’ s program for poverty alleviation, with collateral - free loans providing the entrepreneurial poor ( e - poor ) with much needed capital to start a micro enterprise. the bsp will also continue to push for the passage of key legislative bills to accelerate the development of the local capital market and further strengthen the regulatory authority. in particular, we shall push for the implementation of a centralized credit information bureau to improve the quality of financial information to investors, expand private sector access to credit, minimize exposure to risks of financial intermediaries, and lower cost of borrowing. we will likewise work actively with other government agencies and the private sector for the completion of critical market infrastructure to enhance system integrity and overall market confidence. at the same time, we will intensify our economic and financial education program so that filipinos can participate in, and benefit from, our economic gains. in this advocacy, i earnestly ask for your support. other filipinos can participate in opportunities that economic development brings if such are brought to their attention and they are made to understand its potential. this is the reason why we have been conducting nationwide lectures on investment options for overseas filipinos and their dependents. and starting june this year, 11 million public elementary students will be taught lessons on money management to help them develop the habit of saving and investing. with this, i hope we can nurture a new generation of financially literate filipinos. conclusion ladies and gentlemen, let me close this message by saying that the philippine economy is likely to weather the challenges it faces, both domestic and external. i believe that with the fundamental strength of the economy backed by the government ’ s firm commitment to continue to pursue needed reforms, there exists a sound basis for a sustained noninflationary growth in the country. finally, i congratulate ejap for its continuing program to professionalize