slack falls, inflation will gradually accelerate further to 1. 6 % in 2018. although the euro area recovery is showing signs of resilience, material downside risks remain, mainly stemming from the external environment and significant uncertainties following the outcome of the uk referendum. moreover, our baseline scenario for growth and inflation in the euro area remains crucially dependent on the current supportive financing conditions staying in place. therefore, we will ensure that monetary policy continues to play its role in facilitating the cyclical recovery. by ensuring accommodative financing conditions that buoy demand, monetary policy is helping to raise output back to its potential level and ultimately secures inflation to return to levels below, but close to, 2 %. we remain fully committed to preserving the very substantial amount of monetary accommodation which is necessary to secure a sustained convergence of inflation towards our inflation aim and stand ready to act, if warranted, to achieve our price stability objective by using all the instruments available within our mandate. to this end, at our policy meeting in early december, we will be in a good position to take a comprehensive perspective on the inflation outlook, our progress made in achieving a sustained adjustment and the monetary policy stance, benefitting from incoming data and survey information, the new staff macroeconomic projections as well as the work of the eurosystem committees on options to ensure a smooth implementation of our purchase programme until march 2017, or beyond, if needed. nevertheless, potential growth in the euro area is low after years of decline, while structural unemployment remains high. the european commission estimates that the potential growth rate of the euro area economy this year is just 1 %, half that of the united states. 5 low potential growth casts a shadow over the long - run economic prospects for the euro area, creating a negative feedback loop. because low potential growth dampens expectations of future income, it curbs consumption and investment today, which further lowers rates of potential growth tomorrow. this can lead to a permanent destruction of productive capacity, including 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches jobs. 6 it is therefore imperative that decisive action is taken now in order to propel the on - going cyclical recovery into a structural recovery. long - run growth depends on the efficiency with which resources are allocated, the ease of doing business, the incentives for investment and confidence in public institutions. making strides in these areas requires structural reforms aimed at supporting investment, enhancing productivity and increasing flexibility in the markets for labour, goods and services. structural reforms will

benjamin e diokno : opening remarks macroeconomic conference series for the regional opening remarks by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the regional macroeconomic conference series, manila, 21 february 2022. * * * to our partners from the banking and business sectors, the academe, colleagues from the government, members of the monetary board, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. to our guests from davao and soccsksargen regions, " maayong buntag. " and for those from the bangsamoro region, " mapiya mapita. " welcome you all to our regional macroeconomic conference series ( rmcs ). this is the second leg of the regional conference since its launch in cebu city on september 28, 2021. the rcms is one of regional operations'many efforts to bring the bsp closer to the filipino people. we are doing this virtually for now but i look forward to when we can finally do this face to face. in any case, may the discussion ahead harness a broad spectrum of opinions and insights, your experience on the ground is valuable to us as we take these in consideration in our policy diretions. two topics stood out as your top concerns through a survey : 1 ) recent economic developments focusing on a regional perspective and 2 ) general banking system developments. today's presentation will focus not only on the davao region development but also on soccsksargen and barmm, particularly maguindanao and cotabato city. overall, the economy of mindanao remains afloat despite the pandemic. davao region is an emerging investment hub and is becoming a sustainable place for global business. on the other hand, soccsksargen region successfully hurdles the challenge with its competitive cities and provinces leaping strides. meanwhile, barmm achieved several significant investments feats and withstood gaps and challenges. while our current experiences pose challenges, it is also a reminder that a robust financial and banking system combined with proactive policies can mitigate the impact of covid - 19. but achieving economic recovery requires contributions from the monetary and fiscal fronts, and the private sector as well. in that sense, this event is timely as we engage with all of you as partners in pursuit of the country ’ s economic recovery. with this in mind, let me share share with you a quote from german writer johann wolfgang von goethe [