industry ’ s investment management activities as new clients with lower amounts of investible funds can now be tapped. financial inclusion was a major consideration in crafting this policy amendment. we want to make investing more accessible, while providing retail investors with a greater degree of protection. we are confident that these investors will benefit from the expertise of trust entities and that trust entities would continue to exercise prudence in the way they offer their services. economic update to provide a big picture on what lies ahead, let me proceed with an update on the economy and the banking system. 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches the economic, social and health effects of covid - 19 are unprecedented. they disrupted economic activity globally. the philippines was not spared : its economy contracted by 9. 5 percent in 2020, its first fall since the 1998 asian financial crisis. but one can argue that the contraction could have been worse had the philippine economy not entered the crisis in a strong position. the uninterrupted economic growth for over two decades prior to the covid - 19 pandemic, the timely structural reforms, the generally manageable inflation, and the hefty gross international reserves – all these have helped cushion the adverse effects of the health cum economic crisis on the domestic economy. our key economic indicators remain encouraging. inflation inflation is manageable and inflation expectation remains anchored. while inflation rates have risen in recent months, they were driven mainly by faster price increases of key food items and higher domestic oil prices. but the upticks in inflation are consistent with bsp ’ s assessment that inflation will remain elevated in the coming months before decelerating in the fourth quarter of the year. inflation is projected to return within the government ’ s target range of 3. 0 percent ± 1. 0 percentage point over the policy horizon. monetary policy will continue to support the various interventions of the national government to alleviate the impact of supply - side factors on consumer prices. balance of payments ( bop ) the country ’ s external position has caught up well despite the weak global demand in 2020 amid the synchronized recession of our major trade and investment partners. for full - year 2020, the overall balance of payments ( bop ) position was at an all - time high of us $ 16. 02 billion. for 2021, we project the balance of payments to be us $ 6. 2 billion or 1. 6 percent of gdp. gross international reserves ( gir ) meanwhile, the country ’ s gross international reserves ( gir ) level remains

amando m tetangco, jr : migration, remittances, economic development and the role of banks remarks by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the 13th meeting of the world savings bank institute asia - pacific regional group, manila, 15 march 2007. * * * distinguished organizers led by mr. jose antonio olavarrieta arcos of the world savings bank institute, wsbi asia pacific group president mr. asvinvichit, mr. de noose, chairman of the management committee, undersecretary jun paul of the department of finance, guests and participants to the 13th meeting of the wsbi asia - pacific regional group, good morning and to our foreign guest, welcome to the philippines! i must say that the decision of wsbi to hold this year ’ s meeting in our country is most timely indeed, given the conference theme “ economic development and migration : a new challenge for savings banks. ” i therefore congratulate the philippine postal savings bank headed by its chairman, justice lapena, and its president & ceo rolando macasaet for taking the lead in hosting this event. indeed, migration and remittances are significant factors in our economy. according to the world bank, the philippines ranks fifth globally in terms of remittances received from its overseas workers. the world bank report was based on 2004 figures, with india reported to have received $ 22 billion, china $ 21 billion, mexico $ 18 billion, france $ 13 billion and the philippines $ 10 billion. latest available data from the bangko sentral ng pilipinas indicate that in 2006, remittances of overseas filipino workers coursed through banks reached a record high level of $ 12. 8 billion. another $ 1. 2 billion was estimated to have been remitted through informal channels. the total amount is equivalent to 10. 9 % of our gross domestic product! this is a huge resource that offers a lot of opportunities. the increase is due mainly to higher deployment of filipino workers, abroad more and more in the skilled and professional categories, and a more aggressive campaign to encourage a greater number of overseas workers to channel their remittances through our banking system. to our banking sector in general and savings banks in particular, remittances averaging $ 1 billion a month from our 8 million overseas filipinos represent tremendous opportunities. as