finance and digital banking frameworks to accelerate digital transformation and financial inclusion. the open finance framework promotes consent - driven data portability, interoperability, and collaborative partnerships among entities that adhere to the same standards of data security and privacy. in line with our digital transformation roadmap, the bsp has issued licenses to six purely digital banks. the bsp has also commenced initiatives in the digitalization of offshore payments. we are prioritizing the establishment of interoperable cross - border real - time retail payment systems among asean member states. moving on to sustainable finance... for us at the bsp, sustainability will serve as our guidepost in rebuilding the post - covid 19 economy. it is crucial that sustainability principles are part of how institutions are governed. as such, the bsp is actively collaborating with government agencies and regulators through the interagency technical working group on sustainable finance or what we call the “ green force ” to form a cohesive action plan to institutionalize and accelerate the growth of sustainable finance. data shows that 24 percent or 119 out of 499 banks have adopted their respective sustainable transition plans. banks have issued around 1. 15 billion us dollars and 152. 9 billion pesos worth of green, social and sustainability bonds since 2017. in leading by example, the bsp has invested 550 million us dollars in the green bond funds of the bank for international settlements to promote investments in sustainable or green finance assets. we also acknowledge the critical legislation complementing our regulatory reforms and initiatives. these bills include financial consumer protection act, which will afford the financial sector regulators the authority to enforce prudent and customer - centric standards of conduct, including the power to adjudicate customer complaints. the fcpa is in the office of the president for signature. the agri agra bill is seen to enhance access by rural communities to private sector financing. this bill is pending for bicameral conference. meanwhile, the digital payments bill seeks to promote digital payment systems, particularly in all government agencies. this is currently approved in the house of representatives on third reading and pending in the senate committee on banks. the government financial institutions unified initiatives to distressed enterprises for economic recovery act or the guide bill seeks to strengthen the capacity of the landbank and development bank of the philippines to provide access to credit to distressed enterprises as a result of the pandemic. this bill is approved in the house of representatives on third reading and pending in the senate committee on banks. there is also the

felipe m medalla : supporting the continued growth of the fund management industry speech by mr felipe m medalla, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the fund managers association of the philippines ( fmap ) general membership meeting and induction of officers, manila, 20 february 2023. * * * note : this speech mentioned inflation figures from december 2022. the bsp has since released updated inflation numbers and increased its policy rate by 50 basis points in february 2023. to the outgoing and incoming officers of the fund managers association of the philippines ( fmap ), thank you for inviting me. events like these give me a good chance to explain what the bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp ) does and why it does them. the importance of communicating the central bank's actions and intentions in my view and our view, as always, the better understood we are and the more predictable we are, the more effective we are [ in carrying out our mandates ]. there is a saying in standard macroeconomics, " the only reason monetary policy works is [ because ] it surprises people. " and the way it goes is : you [ the central bank ] increase the money supply when markets are not expecting it. prices are relatively sticky, and therefore, the increase in money supply increases output. but then, the only way you only did it is by fooling people. [ by the ] next time you do it, it is not going to work anymore. [ what is ] worse, even if you are not thinking of doing it, they [ the market ] think you will do it. therefore, they put it at a premium. in other words, it works once and costs you a lot later. the bsp is very much aware of this. that is why we want to be as transparent as possible. in fact, if we know where we are going, we will tell you where we are going. but how does one communicate the uncertain? the fact that we are not telling you where we are going is [ because ] we, ourselves, are not sure where we are going, especially in this environment that is so unpredictable. for instance, who could have predicted just six months before that the fed [ united states federal reserve ] will do four 75 basis points ( bps ) [ policy rate increases ]? in other words, you cannot do forward guidance when your forward guidance may add