moved to ensure adequate liquidity in the financial system to support credit activities. the bsp extended provisional advances to the national government worth 10. 3 billion us dollars in 2020 and 2021, which was reduced to 5. 7 billion us dollars in january 2022. the national government has fully paid these advances ahead of the maturity schedule on june 11, 2022. the bsp also provided big banks extra leg room to extend credit via a 200 - basis points reduction in their reserve requirement ratio to just 12 percent. in total, the bsp infused to the financial system an amount equivalent to 11. 3 percent of the gdp. we have also started the normalization process for our policy rate through a 25 - basis point hike to 2. 25 percent last may 19. also, as part of the policy normalization process, the bsp reconfigured its government securities purchasing window into a regular intraday facility. the timing and conditions of our exit strategy continue to be data driven. it is a balancing act guided by several factors, such as inflation and growth outlook. a well - planned, well - calibrated, and well - communicated exit plan will prevent substantial market volatility, reduce potential spillovers, and sustain our recovery momentum. the philippines is also determined to maintain fiscal discipline. after posting a higher debt - to - gdp ratio as a result of massive spending for covid response, we are keen to return to our fiscal consolidation path. based on the fiscal program, the national government ’ s debt should go down to 60. 4 percent in 2024. it is worth emphasizing that our current level of debt - to - gdp ratio is well below the figure for other economies, some of which have debts over 100 percent or even 200 percent of their gdp. our external accounts are also healthy. our gross international reserves as of end - april this year stood at 106. 8 billion us dollars, equivalent to 9. 4 months ’ worth of imports. the received doctrine is that three months of import cover is sufficient. in line with the movement of other emerging market currencies, the philippine peso depreciated by 2. 62 percent to p52. 37 as of may 31 from its end - 2021 level. the bsp keeps its market - determined exchange rate policy and intervenes only to ensure orderly market conditions and prevent excessive short - term volatility in the exchange rate. moving on to the banking sector, banks continue to serve as a pillar of strength

janet l yellen : commencement remarks speech by ms janet l yellen, chair of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at new york university ’ s 2014 commencement, new york city, 21 may 2014. * * * thank you, president sexton. on behalf of the honorees, let me express my thanks to nyu. and congratulations from all of us to you, the class of 2014, and to your families, especially your parents. this is a special day to celebrate your achievements and to look forward to your lives ahead. your nyu education has not only provided you with a foundation of knowledge ; it has also, i hope, instilled in you a love of knowledge and an enduring curiosity. life will continue to be a journey of discovery if you tend the fires of curiosity that burn brightly in all of us. such curiosity led eric kandel, here at nyu, to his lifetime goal, to discover the chemical and cellular basis of human memory. a few years after his graduation, he was doing research on cats. but he had the idea of focusing on an animal with a simpler, more fundamental brain : the california sea slug. his colleagues all but ridiculed him for the idea. they “ knew ” that the study of the lowly sea slug was irrelevant for understanding human memory. kandel ’ s surgically - skilled collaborator deserted him. to get up to speed on sea slugs, he had to go abroad to study. but kandel persisted and, in 2000, his curiosity won him the nobel prize. it was, as you must have guessed, for deciphering the chemistry of memory in humans, as revealed by his research on sea slugs. kandel ’ s life, i believe, demonstrates how a persistent curiosity can help us reach ambitious goals, even with great roadblocks in the way. a second tool for lifelong intellectual growth is a willingness to listen carefully to others. these days, technology allows us access to a great breadth of perspectives, but it also allows us to limit what voices we hear to the narrow range we find most agreeable. listening to others, especially those with whom we disagree, tests our own ideas and beliefs. it forces us to recognize, with humility, that we don ’ t have a monopoly on the truth. yankee stadium is a natural venue for another lesson : you won ’ t succeed all the time. even ruth, gehrig and dimaggio failed most of time when they stepped