marktwirtschaft ” is a response to the questions raised in the anglo - saxon world. germany, like many other european countries, proves that economic success can go hand in hand with social welfare and less inequality. now is not the moment to haul down the european flag : it is time to build on our assets more actively, including by achieving a better economic union, which i spoke of earlier. i wish to add a few words about brexit. it is not something we wanted and it is obviously bad news, first and foremost for the united kingdom and its economy. i note that the victory of brexit 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches has brought the official growth forecast for britain down to below that of the euro area, at only 1. 4 % in 2017. our priority is to manage the consequences as smoothly as possible and reduce uncertainty as much as we can. the british prime minister ’ s speech last week provided some clarifications but it is essential to bear one clear principle in mind : the single market is not divisible ; access to the single market is inseparable from respecting its rules. this makes a simple free trade agreement such as that proposed by theresa may very difficult and there can be no cherry picking with regard to europe. the german chancellor has quite rightly stressed that it is essential for all 27 member states to be united on this matter. * * i will conclude by sharing my conviction with you. in the face of us and global uncertainties, i want the euro area to be an area of relative stability and growth. but now more than ever, france and germany must act together. as a central banker, our duty is to implement the best possible monetary policy for the euro area, in keeping with our mandate. but this monetary policy neither can, nor should, do everything. it is also my responsibility to make proposals for more effective economic policies. i have outlined some ideas to you with my conviction as a european and i am now happy to answer your questions. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

benjamin e diokno : road to recovery - turning crisis into opportunities speech by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the manila times online forum, 29 june 2020. * * * manila times president and ceo dante “ klink ” ang, chief operating officer blanca mercado, other manila times officers and staff, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen. good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to this manila times online forum. i adopted your theme, “ road to recovery : turning crisis into opportunities ” as the title of my presentation today. we are three and a half months into the lockdown. cautiously but surely, we are getting back on our feet. even as the covid - 19 uncertainty continues, i am optimistic that we can overcome this crisis. let me share bsp ’ s views on growth and recovery after this pandemic. this is a snapshot of the terrain after the outbreak of covid - 19. the domestic financial markets were racked by heightened volatility following the outbreak of the covid - 19 pandemic. we saw a sharp decline in portfolio inflows in the first two months of 2020. the stock market index noted on march 19 its lowest year - to - date record since october 11, 2011. we have had serious exogenous shocks in the first quarter — the taal volcano eruption, uschina trade tensions, african swine fever. but nothing comes close to the covid - 19 pandemic that has brought the global economy to a halt. the confluence of these shocks resulted in the contraction of the economy by 0. 2 percent in the first quarter of 2020. this is the first negative real gdp growth since 1998 when the economy wrestled with el nino and the asian financial crisis. in its latest assessment, the development budget coordination committee forecasts a full - year contraction of – 2. 0 to – 3. 4 percent ( neda, 13 may 2020 ). on a positive note, the peso appears to buck the trend as most regional currencies have depreciated significantly against the us dollar. the peso is the least depreciated currency among its peers. we have hefty gross international reserves estimated at us $ 93. 3 billion in may. we forecast that the year - end gir will reach us $ 95 billion. despite the bleak global picture,