education isn ’ t just about college course work, it should be a lifelong experience. if your employer asks you do something new – don ’ t shy away from it. instead, think of it as a wonderful deal : your employer is going to pay you to deepen your skills and knowledge base. you will be paid to become more valuable. for me, the ability to build my human capital has happened – in spades – several times. the first occurred here at new college and at berkeley for graduate school. here i learned to really read critically and how to write – the one literature course that i mentioned earlier notwithstanding. the second was the opportunity early on in my career to become involved in macroeconomic forecasting and policy analysis. up to that point, i had been a regulatory economist. i had only taken one course in macroeconomics in graduate school and it was the only course on which i received a “ b ” grade – i had not revealed any great affinity for that subject. at first, the work was stressful. when people asked me questions, i wasn ’ t sure whether i was supposed to know the answers or not. at first, i felt quite ignorant, but eventually that passed. the third was when i was asked to head the markets group at the federal reserve bank of new york at the beginning of 2007. it was an unexpected opportunity for public service after spending the bulk of my career in the private sector. the markets group is the operational arm of the federal reserve system. it helps to have an economics background, but it was a very different task managing 300 people who worked in many complex businesses ranging from treasury auctions to providing services to foreign central banks. and, when the financial crisis began in earnest in august 2007, the learning curve accelerated sharply. and the fourth was when i had the opportunity to succeed timothy geithner as president of the bank in january 2008. now it is 3, 000 people, not 300 to manage and a much wider set of responsibilities. some of the most interesting parts of the job have been getting troubled financial institutions onto a stronger footing so that these firms could provide greater credit and support to the u. s. economy. obviously, working closely with chairman ben bernanke and my fed colleagues at the board of governors and around the other 11 reserve banks has also been particularly rewarding. each time, the opportunities helped me broaden my knowledge and skills. my career benefited as a consequence. in implementing this advice, it also

financing needs of their clientele. as the economy grew more than six percent for the last six years ( 6. 7 percent in 2017 ), the latest gdp data likewise showed that the national capital region ( ncr ), at 6. 1 percent, grew less than the national average. this certainly means that economic activities in the provinces are expanding and growing. in recent years, the davao region has consistently posted growth above the national average, being the second fastest growing region of the country in 2017, at 10. 9 percent gdp growth. we are counting on our rural banks to assist in further bringing about economic progress to the rural communities. bsp ’ s reform agenda for an inclusive banking system for our part, the bsp remains strongly committed in providing an enabling regulatory environment for the overall safety and soundness of the banking system. we always emphasize the importance of prudent banking operations, highlighted by strong capitalization and adequate liquidity position as buffers against unforeseen shocks. we also continuously encourage banks to aspire to the highest standards of corporate governance and risk management ; to go beyond just complying with banking regulations so you can proactively respond to emerging banking developments and challenges. as part of continuing reforms, the bsp approved the adoption of minimum prudential liquidity requirements ( mlr ) for stand - alone thrift banks, rural banks, cooperative banks, and quasibanks. these requirements are designed to enhance covered institutions ’ resilience to liquidity stress events and is a significant step in aligning our supervisory framework with international standards. it also illustrates the bsp ’ s commitment to the application of proportionality in our approach to supervision. we also wish to leave no banking institution behind. together with the philippine deposit insurance corporation ( pdic ) and the land bank of the philippines ( lbp ), we have re - launched the consolidation program for rural banks. this will further strengthen the industry through 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches stronger financial condition, enhanced management and governance, more synergies and economies of scale, and wider market reach. the continuing prudential reforms have given us the confidence to further liberalize our rules to allow more business with operational flexibility. towards this end, we allowed banks to utilize cash agents as cost - efficient service delivery channels. rural banks can now establish branchlite units to offer a defined set of services with less regulatory requirements. the framework for basic deposit account further enhances the smooth onboarding of un