save, many of them for the first time. at present, these microentrepreneurs have accumulated savings of p 5. 2 billion. in addition, the microfinance sector has become a market for microfinance products like micro - insurance and micro - housing loans. because of the significant strides we have made together, the philippines is considered a global leader in microfinance. for five years in a row – between 2009 to 2013 — the global survey on microfinance by the economist intelligence unit ( eiu ) ranked the philippines as number one in the world in terms of regulatory framework for microfinance. eiu has since amended its survey to measure financial inclusion. in this survey we also rank as a global leader : in 2016, the eiu ranks peru and columbia as the top two, while the philippines and india are third in the world and first in asia with the most conducive environment for financial inclusion. 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches improvements in overall access to financial services in the philippines is also reflected in the world bank findex, the global database for financial inclusion. it said formal account ownership among filipino adults increased from 26. 6 % in 2011 to 31. 3 % in 2014, with higher growth among low income and less educated segments of our population. ladies and gentlemen. our cma awardees for this year are among the most diverse set of winners, coming from a range of industries. 1 but they have two things in common : 1 ) they demostrate how financial inclusion and microfinance can unlock opportunities and 2 ) they serve as catalysts for the development of their ventures in various areas. indeed, our efforts to build an inclusive financial system result in better access to financial products and services that empower individuals and enterprises to seize economic opportunities. and we continue to develop enabling policies and regulations to reach unserved and underserved markets. last march, for instance, we issued bsp circular 908 or the agricultural value chain financing framework which aims to address agricultural credit risks by shifting the focus of lending from individual farmers and fisherfolks to the whole value chain. this will benefit microenterprises that are involved in value chains as it provides an opportunity to open up credit to all the players in the chain. 2 as designed, the avcf framework not only addresses financing constraints of small players but also allows them to take on other challenges such as access to markets, business development, and technology. in other

well within the bsp ’ s 2 - 4 percent target range for the year. looking ahead, the latest baseline forecasts indicate that inflation is projected to average at 2. 9 percent for both 2020 and 2021. the balance of risks to future inflation appears to be weighted toward the upside for 2020, but remains tilted to the downside for 2021. petitions for electricity rates and transport fare adjustments, the proposed increase in excise taxes on alcoholic beverages, and the impact of african swine fever ( asf ) on meat prices are seen as the main upside risks to inflation. meanwhile, slower global economic growth due to the escalation of protectionist policies in advanced economies as well as geopolitical tensions, and the corona virus outbreak are the main downside risks to inflation. equally important, inflation expectations – based on forecast surveys of private sector analysts – have remained manageable and well within the government ’ s target range. results of the bsp ’ s 2 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches survey of private sector economists for december 2019 showed inflation will continue to remain on a target - consistent path for 2020 and 2021. third, the credit - liquidity dynamics in the country remain supportive of long term sustained growth. economic activities in the country has led to increased demand for loans across key economic sectors as reflected in the continued expansion of bank lending. bank lending also continues to flow into the country ’ s production sectors, including real estate. preliminary data show that outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks, net of reverse repurchase ( rrp ) placements with the bsp, grew by 10. 9 percent in december, faster than the 10. 1 - percent expansion in november. nevertheless, loan demand remains healthy across sectors as shown in the table on the right. this is also consistent with the preliminary results of the senior loan officers survey conducted quarterly by the bsp, which showed stable overall demand for loans from both enterprises and households. fourth, the philippine banking system, as the lifeline of economic activity, remains vibrant, sound, and compliant with domestic and international standards. this is because of bsp ’ s continuing financial reform agenda in the areas of banking supervision, financial inclusion, cyber security and technology, risk management, anti - money laundering, counter - terrorist financing, and capital market development. the series of rr cuts implemented in 2019, in addition to the bsp ’ s support for lending activities, are in line with our broad financial sector reform agenda to promote a more efficient financial