insurance commission ( ic ) • national economic and development authority ( neda ) • philippine deposit insurance corporation ( pdic ) • philippine statistics authority ( psa ) and • securities and exchange commission ( sec ) these agencies are involved, directly or indirectly, in promoting an inclusive financial system and in serving unserved and underserved markets. as participants in the nsfi crafting process, these agencies commit to pursue financial inclusion alongside their respective mandates. the bsp, as initiator of this process, is committed to make the nsfi a living, relevant and useful document for all stakeholders. our commitment to financial inclusion began as early as year 2000 when we mainstreamed microfinance as a banking activity. since then, we have been fine - tuning policies and regulations to enable our supervised institutions to serve unconventional markets such as low - income households and microentrepreneurs. experience taught us that such markets, like regular consumers, can be provided with suitable financial products and services by regular financial institutions. hence in 2007, we bis central bankers ’ speeches progressed our advocacy from microfinance to financial inclusion. the bsp was among the first central banks to create a unit dedicated to promoting financial inclusion. our agenda has since expanded because of the conviction that financial inclusion, when done right, supports the bsp ’ s primary mandates of price and financial system stability. we have also put equal focus on consumer protection and financial education. in 2012, the bsp institutionalized financial inclusion as a corporate objective with the creation of the inclusive finance steering committee ( ifsc ), which i chair. this committee serves as a seamless mechanism for internal coordination and synergy of various inclusionrelated initiatives that are being implemented by different operating units. these initiatives revolve around the same four areas that the nsfi focuses on. to institutions therefore who wish to support or promote financial inclusion, the nsfi serves as guide – the sonar or gps that ensures policy cohesion and coordination, and prevents duplication of initiatives. sceptics may think that our nsfi is merely another document. we believe nsfi will work thru the implementation of tactical plans that form the acronym smart : specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and time - bound. as per our timeline, by july this year, the heads of the agencies represented here today will sign a memorandum of understanding as a formal commitment to the nsfi objectives, principles and tactical plans. ladies and gentlemen. we realize that the 13

: • about 12 percent of our 1, 634 cities and municipalities of remain unserved by authorized financial service providers while 36 percent have no banks at all ; • only 4 out of 10 filipino adults set aside money to save, and 68 percent of them keep their savings at home ; • 47 percent of filipino adults borrow, but mostly from sources like family and friends ( 62 percent ) and informal lenders ( 10 percent ) ; • only 39 percent of households receiving overseas filipino remittances allocate a portion to savings ; and • insurance penetration is only 1. 8 percent. bis central bankers ’ speeches with your inputs and support to the nsfi process – we look forward to seeing significant changes in these numbers. ladies and gentlemen. i am confident that our nsfi will generate positive results … for a number of reasons : first, because its implementing mechanism is inclusive ; second, it ensures interactive engagement among stakeholders ; and third, it promotes synergy of initiatives. the experience of other countries inspires us to have our own nsfi. in particular, the world bank has noted that countries which have national strategies for financial inclusion have recorded higher average growth rates for financial access compared to others. i have been repeatedly asked – why is an nsfi important? well, the nsfi provides a platform for coordination among the many stakeholders with important roles in financial inclusion. it provides the blueprint useful in designing and implementing financial inclusion policies and programs that focus on four areas : ( 1 ) policy, regulation and supervision, ( 2 ) financial education and consumer protection, ( 3 ) advocacy programs and ( 4 ) data and measurement. in addition, the nsfi fulfills the philippine development plan ( pdp ), which commits to “ establish a national strategy that defines financial inclusion, the strategies undertaken to achieve it, and the accountabilities of all stakeholders ”. it is the result of different agencies, with varied mandates, working together because of a shared recognition that – financial inclusion is essential to achieve the government ’ s overarching goal of inclusive growth. these agencies include : • bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp ) ; • commission on filipinos overseas ( cfo ) • cooperative development authority ( cda ) • department of budget and management ( dbm ) • department of education ( dep - ed ) • department of finance ( dof ) • department of social welfare and development ( dswd ) • department of trade and industry ( dti ) •