13. 12. 2019 welcome address conference “ financial integration and inclusive development : a view from the mediterranean countries ” / banco de espana e instituto del mediterraneo ( iemed ) pablo hernandez de cos governor good morning ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all to this conference on financial integration and inclusive development : a view from the mediterranean countries, hosted by banco de espana and jointly organised with the european institute of the mediterranean ( iemed ) and the support of the organization for economic co - operation and development ( oecd ). let me start by thanking our colleagues from the european institute of the mediterranean and from the oecd for their cooperation in organising this conference. the european institute of the mediterranean ( iemed ), created in 1989 with the participation of the spanish ministry of foreign affairs and cooperation, the government of the autonomous community of cataluna, and the barcelona city council, incorporates a broad representation of civil society and is a leading institution in the analysis of euro - mediterranean relations. in accordance with the principles of the euro - mediterranean partnership's barcelona process, and with the objectives of the union for the mediterranean, the aim of the iemed is to contribute to mutual understanding, exchange and cooperation between the different mediterranean countries. and banco de espana is delighted to collaborate to this objective in the field of economic and financial relationships. our second partner today, the oecd, is playing an invaluable role in the international arena to shape policies that are decisively contributing to the well - being for all. it is no exaggeration to say that the world count on the leadership of the oecd in many fronts such as those that we are going to discuss today : financial inclusion, capital flows, migration, among others. this is the fifth edition of this conference organised by iemed, with the support of the banco de espana, to discuss economic and financial matters in the mediterranean region. the first and third editions took place in barcelona, in 2014 and 2017, the second in rabat in 2015 and the fourth in tunisia in 2018, on those occasions with the support and hospitality of bank al - maghrib and the central bank of tunisia. past editions of this conference had provided useful exchanges of ideas between different actors with interests in the economic and financial developments in this region. i firmly believe that forums like this are particularly relevant to shape public policy in times of change as those we are witnessing today. the deep - rooted

was a product of lessons learned the hard way. perhaps this audience may not remember why there was a need to establish and organize what is now known as the bangko sentral ng pilipinas. bsp. of our 5, 322 work - force today, it is a fact that 84 % have been here less than 25 years. many of you are likely unfamiliar with the central bank of the philippines ( cbp ), an entity separate and distinct from the bsp, and the events that led to its dissolution. the dissolution of the cbp and the establishment of the bsp and a separate legal entity called the cb – board of liquidators ( cb - bol ) were premised on the urgent need for an independent central monetary authority … financially strong, enjoying fiscal autonomy, and free from political influence. this independence is constitutionally enshrined. for the last 25 years, we, the bsp, have proudly anchored ourselves on this independence. we protect and uphold its demand for responsibility and accountability. let me recall some key accomplishments … 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches in response to the asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, the bsp pursued structural reforms that changed and improved the conduct of monetary policy and financial supervision. in 2002, to better attain price stability objectives, the bsp formally adopted the inflation - targeting ( it ) framework. since then, we have established a solid track record for hitting our inflation targets and for being transparent on how we conduct monetary policy. in 2016, we established the interest rate corridor ( irc ) system to enhance monetary policy transmission and reinforce the development of the domestic financial market. this year, we have commenced the gradual phase - down of ultra - high reserve requirements to promote the efficiency of monetary policy. amid changes in financial market conditions and increasing sophistication of financial services, we recognized a growing need for financial regulations to adapt, or else risk irrelevance. this is just one of the lessons from going through two episodes of financial crises over the past two decades — financial supervision must be proactive instead of reactive. we have thus shifted to a more comprehensive, risk - based approach to banking supervision. this has significantly improved the safety and soundness of individual banks and promoted early identification and effective mitigation of system - wide financial risks. in december 2002, the bsp shifted to a real - time gross settlement ( rtgs ) system. this made payments and settlements more efficient. today, we have phil