amando tetangco : corporate, environmental governance - continuing capacity building and social speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the bsp - ifc mini forum ( and ceremonial mou signing ), manila, 26 may 2017. * * * good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp ). let me begin this keynote with the ending of a paper written by a professor emeritus from harvard1 “ good governance is an important condition that we hope all the world can enjoy. there is much to be understood about the concept and how it can be achieved. but like all good ideas, it is not a magic bullet. ” this quote poetically captures the three points i wish to share with you today : 1 ) first … over the years, the bsp and the banking industry have done much to ensure that good corporate governance ( cg ) sits at the core of decision making and institutional operations ; 2 ) second … there is more to learn, for example, concepts like environmental and social governance ( esg ) and risk management ( esrm ). these principles need deeper exploration and understanding in the context of banking and finance ; and 3 ) third … indeed, good governance is not a magic bullet by itself. practitioners must faithfully practice the principles. whether it is about cg or esg, institutions and its employees need to remain well - equipped to demonstrate, embed and practice good governance in daily operations. good corporate governance in the bsp and the banking sector to expound on my first point, let me share that the bsp champions good governance within the organization, and as supervisor of the banking system. internally, we have adopted a corporate governance framework and defined strategic priorities focused on a strong governance mechanism, operational excellence, organizational readiness and engaged stakeholders. we continue to improve our bank - wide risk management system and institute business process improvements. we strive to promote a culture of fair and responsive treatment of all our stakeholders. we have clearly defined and communicated expectations from each employee in carrying - out the bsp mission. we have a performance scorecard that checks our progress and achievements. these efforts have borne fruit. the bsp was recently recognized as an island of good governance by the institute of corporate directors and institute for solidarity in asia. as regulator, we adopted a three - phase governance reform

for instance – which you have time and again heard me say would no longer be a problem of plenty, but be a pot of plenty for the many. in other words, ladies and gentlemen of the bmap, there is so much going on in the banking sector and you are in a position to help your respective banks and our economy benefit from it. nevertheless, i must remind you that even as you get involved in the sometimes complex details of these reforms you must not forget your customers. i mean, the basic requirements of your customers. i remember that i have asked bmap before to take the lead in informing their atm customers of their service fees. sure, there has been compliance, but i wish there would be more active and visible compliance. my other request is for bmap to initiate the posting of the contact details of their high level officers who can receive customer feedback that are often overlooked at the branch level. i hope to see more bank premises with this simple guide. as it is, the bangko sentral continues to receive complaints about bank services. this tells us that some of your customers are not getting the attention they need and they do not know the bank officers they can call or e - mail. again, this is a challenge that i am sure bmap can manage quite effectively. finally, i invite all of you to participate actively in our financial education program. our financial education program targets our key stakeholders, including overseas filipinos and their dependents, students, and the general public. i know that bmap officers have been meeting with our corporate affairs office on how they can support this important advocacy. in particular, a joint program of the bangko sentral and the department of education calls for the incorporation of lessons in saving and money management for all elementary students – from grade i to grade vi – starting this june, for school year 2008 - 2009. i call on all of you, therefore, to help make this a success. you can do this by helping print the materials we have developed to ensure its widespread dissemination. you can also help by developing parallel campaigns that will develop the habit of saving and investing. for your information, we have about 14 million students in the elementary levels, 12. 8 million of whom are in public schools. this is a big and solid critical mass! this also represents a big base of potential customers for your banks. equally important, if we are successful, we shall be on the right path to nurturing a