questions will be critical to understanding racial and ethnic differences in lending outcomes. staff at the federal reserve will continue their research, and we hope and expect others will join them. research would benefit greatly from the input of banks and mortgage lenders such as yourselves. the national bankers association, in particular, has provided valuable insight in the past into the structure and dynamics of mortgage lending markets with substantial minority populations, and into ways lenders could better serve those markets. we value your information as we collectively search for ways to improve the efficient operation of the mortgage market and the health of our economy and society more generally. in the case of conventional first - lien home - purchase loans extended in 2004, 32. 4 percent of blacks and 20. 3 percent of white hispanics obtained higher - priced loans, compared to 8. 7 percent of non - hispanic whites and 5. 9 percent of asianamericans. robert b. avery, glenn b. canner, and robert e. cook, " new information reported under hmda and its application in fair lending enforcement, " federal reserve bulletin, summer 2005, at table 10. a. 4 / 5 conclusion in conclusion, i would like to say that we at the federal reserve value interaction with organizations such as the national bankers association so we can better understand the issues that banks face today, from capital to credit risk to compliance issues. i look forward to continuing our dialogue in the future. 5 / 5

amando m tetangco, jr : the importance of microentrepreneurship keynote address by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the microentrepreneur of the year ( moty ) awarding ceremony, manila, 19 november 2008. * * * magandang hapon sa inyong lahat! ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered once again to celebrate, honor, and give recognition to our outstanding microentrepreneurs. their collective success in overcoming the difficulties inherent in microentrepreneurship serves as a powerful inspiration for all of us. their stories remind us that with vision, courage, passionate commitment, a persevering spirit, we can pursue and reach seemingly impossible goals even in the midst of a global economic slowdown and financial turmoil. and so, friends, let us show our appreciation for all our awardees by giving them a long round of applause. palakpakan po natin ang ating mga awardees! let us also thank the officers and staff of citi philippines headed by country officer sanjiv vohra for initiating and sustaining the citi microentrepreneur of the year awards which is now on its 6th year. with citi, this annual recognition of outstanding microentrepreneurs has been institutionalized. a round of applause please for citi. of course, we also salute the members of the working groups from the microfinance council of the philippines headed by rollie victoria, from the bangko sentral, from citi, and from other partner institutions. palakpakan din po natin sila. they had the privilege of seeing our successful microentrepreneurs up close and personal, but i am sure they had a difficult time narrowing down the list. i can say this with certainty because we who compose the national selection committee devoted long deliberations on each of the finalists. given the remarkable accomplishments of our finalists, it was a tough choice indeed. and so, this year, the members of the national selection committee decided to give three special awards on top of our eight major winners. friends, let us also reward the hardworking members of the national selection committee with a round of applause. ladies and gentlemen. the stories of our winners become even more significant when viewed against the backdrop of an increasingly difficult operating environment.