of our action, as with our other recent actions – including our provision of liquidity to financial firms and our reductions in the federal funds rate target – was, as best as possible, to improve the functioning of financial markets and to limit any adverse effects of financial turmoil on the broader economy. we will remain focused on those objectives. clearly, the u. s. economy is going through a very difficult period. but among the great strengths of our economy is its ability to adapt and to respond to diverse challenges. much necessary economic and financial adjustment has already taken place, and monetary and fiscal policies are in train that should support a return to growth in the second half of this year and next year. i remain confident in our economy's long - term prospects. thank you. i would be pleased to take your questions.

keep inflation expectations in check and financial market exuberance at bay. as a result, average inflation settled at 4. 1 percent – this is the sixth year in a row that we kept inflation within the government ’ s target range. the peso remained relatively stable. and while our balance of payments showed a deficit due to capital outflows influenced by the fed ’ s decision to end quantitative easing, our current account remained in surplus from strong remittances and receipts from exports and bpos. this brought our foreign exchange reserves to nearly $ 80 billion, sufficient to cover over 10 months ’ worth of imports of goods and payment for services. this provides a critical buffer against potential external shocks. underpinning the sustained growth of the philippine economy is the strong performance of our banking system. double - digit growth rates in lending continued to support economic activities, as public confidence in banks sustained the rise in deposits to record high levels. bis central bankers ’ speeches the confidence is well deserved. for instance, even as lending continued to grow, commercial and universal banks maintained the quality of their loans, with npls as of september at 2. 04 % – the lowest since december 2009. certainly, we are seeing better governance, better management and more investments in technology and capacity building from philippine banks. equally important, our stress tests indicate that our banks have enough capital to withstand extreme shocks in credit and market risks. indeed, the accelerated adoption of basel 3 capital requirements beginning january last year is a measure not only of the strength of our banks – it is a measure of the commitment and the readiness of our banks to help foster overall financial stability. philippine banks are also becoming more financially inclusive. we are witness to their increasing involvement in financial education, the growing number of new deposit accounts starting with children, the greater use of electronic money, the expanding size of the country ’ s microfinance portfolio and the wider coverage of our automatic teller machines or atms. 1 i am happy to share the good news that next week, the bankers association of the philippines, bancnet and megalink will formalize the consolidation of the two atm networks. this is a milestone we have been looking forward to on the way to the greater goal of establishing a national retail payment system ( nrps ) that will achieve inter - operability, efficiency, security and inclusiveness in the way we settle financial transactions. indeed, the bangko sentral ng pilipinas is pleased that the banking community is fully engaged with us