and gentlemen : the trust industry has a significant role to play moving forward. hence, bsp will unceasingly look for better ways of helping the industry. we would continue to relax certain regulations that would support your industry ’ s growth while promoting accountability and good governance. in turn, i enjoin the trust industry, under the new leadership, to continue to support the bsp ’ s advocacies on digitalization, financial inclusion, and sustainable capital markets. we hope that trust entities can fully harness the benefits of digitalization, not only through speedy transactions, but also through the delivery of better services. the move toward digitalization also goes hand in hand with financial education. with the easier access to financial products, customers should be made aware of the risks that they may be exposed to due to digitalization. lastly, we hope that the trust industry can take part in the ecosystem for green and sustainable finance in the country. in the region, the association of south east asian nations ( asean ) has been prioritizing the work on setting of asean standards that would boost capital markets that address climate change. the securities and exchange commission, the bsp and the department of finance are actively involved in these initiatives. i am glad to note that a number of banks have already issued products in this space in the past few years and even during the pandemic. let ’ s help build a green and sustainable finance ecosystem for the generations to come. in closing, i commend the new set of officers of toap for accepting this challenge. leading a key financial industry like the trust institutions is not a walk in the park. it requires agility to ensure that all member - institutions, no matter how big or small, are consulted and empowered. it also requires focused and firm leadership that will make sure that the goals and aspirations of your organization will be achieved. as alexander graham bell said, “ great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds. ” there are many great minds here. and i look forward to your great discoveries and improvements in the industry. rest assured that bsp will continue to collaborate with you to achieve our common goal to maintain a stable financial system that enjoys the trust and confidence of the investing public. have a productive membership meeting. thank you. mabuhay tayong lahat! 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

sufficient — an external liquidity buffer for cushioning the domestic economy against external shocks. we project gross international reserves this year to be around us $ 114. 0 billion, up from us $ 110. 1 billion as of end 2020. this buffer is equivalent to almost a year ’ s worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. domestic liquidity furthermore, the financial system has ample domestic liquidity. m3 posted a 9. 0 percent annual growth to about p14. 0 trillion in january 2021. the increase in money supply was mainly driven by the simultaneous expansion in domestic claims and net foreign assets by 5. 0 percent and 21. 8 percent, respectively. remittances overseas filipino remittances continued to be resilient. they defied the global crisis. while the pandemic has caused more than 300, 000 overseas filipino workers to be repatriated last year, yet of remittances decreased by only 0. 8 percent, contrary to many analysts ’ forecasts that overseas filipino remittances would contract by double - digit levels. for 2021, overseas filipino remittances are expected to grow by 4. 0 percent. 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches consumer and business confidence bsp ’ s recent surveys show that consumer and business confidence are improving. for the first quarter of 2021, the consumer confidence index increased to 4. 3 percent from the previous quarter ’ s survey of negative 4. 1 percent. similarly, business confidence improved in the first quarter, with the index rising to 37. 4 percent from the previous quarter ’ s 16. 8 percent. and for the next 12 months, consumers ’ and businesses ’ outlook remained optimistic, with the respective indices at 23. 6 percent and 57. 7 percent. the international monetary fund, world bank and asian development bank estimate that the economic activity in the country will rebound by 5. 9 percent to 6. 6 percent in 2021. other foreign analysts have higher growth projections for the philippines, which are broadly in line with the national government ’ s forecasts of the gross domestic product of 6. 5 percent to 7. 5 percent for 2021, and 8. 0 percent to 10. 0 percent for 2022. we remain confident that despite the recent surge in cases, the government ’ s vaccination program will take shape as planned, and the economy can take off significantly toward the end of the year. the banking system the philippine banking system remains strong and well capitalized.