conduct of monetary policy in the euro area. this is of course a rather short period, just over a decade. however, changes in interest rate of this magnitude remain exceptional even if we look at the much longer historical experience of the deutsche bundesbank and other major central banks in europe. the unconventional policy taken, for which we also coined the term “ enhanced credit support ”, consisted of four main types of measures : 1. full allotment and increased maturity of the eurosystem ’ s refinancing operations. already in 2007, the number and allotment volumes of 3 month operations were increased, compared to the weekly main refinancing operations. in april 2008, we conducted for the first time 6 month operations. in october 2008, the eurosystem switched in all its refinancing operations to the so - called “ fixed rate with full allotment ” modality, thereby fully accommodating private banks ’ demand for central bank liquidity at the central policy rate. in addition, in may 2009, an announcement was made to conduct three 12 - month operations at fixed rate with full allotment. the first such operation was allotted in june 2009 with an amount of €442 billion. the third 12month operation will be allotted in december 2009. 2. provision of liquidity in foreign currencies. in december 2007, the eurosystem started to provide us dollar against our standard euro collateral set. in october 2008, the eurosystem expanded the provision of liquidity in selected foreign currencies, by offering in principle full allotment. in addition, we started to provide our counterparties with swiss franc denominated liquidity. the provision of foreign currency was refinanced through fx swap agreements between the major central banks. again, this appears to be unprecedented in central banking history and illustrates the very effective co - operation between major central banks over the past two years as well as the willingness to enter new modes of liquidity support to banks. 3. the expansion of the list of assets eligible as collateral. the eurosystem expanded in october 2008 its already broad list of eligible collateral, against which counterparties are able to obtain liquidity in central bank refinancing operations. ample availability of collateral is important in a financial crisis, as counterparties can only obtain liquidity in refinancing operations to the extent that they hold eligible collateral. it may be noted that other central banks widened the

the first time that total microfinance loan portfolio is exceeded by the savings component. this suggests that while microfinance clients take out loans, saving is sustained. for microentrepreneurs, savings help them survive through emergencies or take advantage of a business opportunity. as a further support to microentrepreneurs, the bangko sentral issued last january circular 782 which expanded the scope of qualified microinsurance clients and increased their risk protection. the rural bankers association of the philippines ( rbap ) reports that there are over 500, 000 clients of rural banks that now enjoy microinsurance coverage. this supports the report from the insurance commission that the number of filipinos with microinsurance coverage has doubled in just two years. ladies and gentlemen. earlier we heard the testimonial of floraiwin cainglet, the 2012 cma national winner. flor and her husband rommel started with only two pigs and now have a thriving and innovative hog raising business worth p2. 5 million. in addition, they support a daycare center and feeding programs in their community. these microentrepreneurs are at the forefront of improving lives in their community. again, let us give them a big hand! bis central bankers ’ speeches the success stories of more than 80exceptional microentrepreneurs that the cma has recognized in the past decade tell us that we are successful in providing a nurturing environment for microenterprises. these stories lend a face to the data and serve as validation that our efforts and initiatives in microfinance are effective and sustainable. fellow advocates of microfinance, let us continue to work together therefore to strengthen and sustain partnerships for microfinance. in october this year, the microcredit summit campaign will hold its 16th summit in manila in partnership with the mcpi and with support from the bsp. the theme for this year ’ s conference revolves around partnerships against poverty. the conference will discuss some of the most advanced and successful examples of public - private partnerships in microfinance. i hope you will join the conference. the cma itself is one tangible example of a successful and meaningful partnership against poverty with citi, the citi foundation, the mcpi and the bangko sentral working together toward a shared goal. together, we celebrate the success of our microentrepreneurs. they strengthen our belief that many more filipinos can have a better life through microfinance