amando m tetangco, jr : celebrating freedom and responsibility speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the 117th anniversary of philippine independence, guam, 26 june 2015. * * * i am deeply honored to be with you here in guam to celebrate the 117th anniversary of the independence of the philippines. this is a time of reflection. a time when we look back to honor the people who dedicated their lives to secure our freedom as a nation. a time to remember the significant events that define us as a people and as a nation. indeed, we must celebrate, commemorate, and value our heroes and their legacy of freedom. we are happy to note that this is well recognized by the government of guam with the proclamation signed by gov. calvo declaring june 2015 as philippine independence month. this brings me to the subject i wish to share with you tonight. in the philippines, we are working on developing an economy where growth is sustained, balanced and one that promotes inclusive growth. growth that improves the quality of life. growth that empowers. growth that breeds financial independence among our people similar to what you have here in guam. indeed, with the freedom to set our own course, the philippines is on track to achieve sustained long - term growth. among others, we have registered 16 years of uninterrupted economic growth. and time and again, the philippines has demonstrated a level of resilience that can withstand the effects of global financial distress or the devastating impact of natural calamities. in 2013, for instance, central philippines was struck in succession by a 7. 2 magnitude earthquake and by typhoon haiyan, considered the most powerful storm to make landfall in recorded history. thousands died, millions were adversely affected, properties and infrastructure were destroyed and heritage sites ruined. nevertheless, with overwhelming outpouring of international support, including from guam, and with growth momentum on our side, our economy still expanded by 7. 2 %, the second highest in asia, next to china. the bangko sentral ng pilipinas – which is the philippine central bank - plays a crucial role in laying the appropriate foundation to help keep our economy growing. in line with our mandate, the bangko sentral works on providing an operating environment where stability is the hallmark of price movements and the financial system. the objective is to create conditions that are

four options to choose from : they can build a new system themselves, or buy best of the modules, or buy a comprehensive solution, or outsource. in this context banks need to clearly define their core competencies to be sure that they are investing in areas that will distinguish them from other market players, and give them a competitive advantage 6. a further challenge which banks face in this regard is to ensure that they derive maximum advantage from their investments in technology and avoid wasteful expenditure which might arise on account of uncoordinated and piecemeal adoption of technology ; adoption of inappropriate / inconsistent technology and adoption of obsolete technology. capacity building 17. as dictated by the changing environment, banks need to focus on appropriate capacity building measures to equip their staff to handle advanced risk management systems and supervisors also need to equally equip themselves with appropriate skills to have effective supervision of banks adopting those systems. in the likelihood of a high level of attrition in the system, banks need to focus on motivating their skilled staff and retaining them 7. skill requirements would be significantly higher for ubs ag, the bank for banks industry challenges. august 2004 ms. k. j. udeshi, financial system stability and basel ii - way forward, sri lanka, august 2005. banks planning to migrate to the advanced approaches under basel ii. capacity building gains greater relevance in these banks, so as to equip themselves to take advantage of the incentives offered under the advanced approaches. 18. a relevant point in this regard is that capacity building should be across the institution and not confined to any particular level or any particular area. the demand for better skills can be met either from within or from outside. it would perhaps be worthwhile to first glean through the existing resources to identify misplaced or hidden or forgotten resources and re - position them to boost the bank ’ s efforts to capitalise on available skills. this does not undermine the benefits that a bank may derive by meeting their requirements from the market, but is only intended to prioritise the process. conclusion 19. the global challenges which banks face are not confined only to the global banks. these aspects are also highly relevant for banks which are part of a globalised banking system. further, overcoming these challenges by the other banks is expected to not only stand them in good stead during difficult times but also augurs well for the banking system to which they belong and will also equip them to launch themselves as a global