that, when compared to the last review, the early signs of financial challenges are starting to come into view in pockets of the household and business lending markets. anyone experiencing financial distress should contact their lender at the earliest opportunity. bank profitability, driven by growth in interest margins, has risen rapidly this year. we must be clear - eyed in our assessment that this will not last forever. there are significant risks to the outlook, including increases in financial distress, a repricing in global and local commercial real estate markets, weakening loan growth and increased funding costs. in light of these headwinds, this is a time to be prudent. 1 / 2 bis - central bankers'speeches i now turn to macroprudential policy which is aimed at supporting the resilience of the financial system. on bank capital, we have concluded that it is appropriate to maintain the countercyclical capital buffer ( ccyb ) at 1. 5 per cent, at a time when broad, systemic risks have not materialised, while domestic developments do not point to a build - up of macro - financial imbalances. a key feature of the ccyb is that, if a shock were to hit the economy, its release would better enable the banking system to absorb losses and facilitate a sustainable flow of credit to the economy. we also require additional bank capital for those institutions whose failure could have wider systemic consequences. reflecting structural changes in the irish banking system over the past two years, today i am announcing that this additional capital to reflect systemic importance is no longer required of ulster bank, but is being required of ptsb. the mortgage measures remain a central pillar of our financial stability policy toolkit. lending patterns for the first half of this year suggest the framework continues to achieve its aim of promoting sustainable mortgage lending. our refreshed framework is resulting in more borrowing beyond the previous limits, but – at the same time – we have seen lending at higher levels of indebtedness fall as lenders have tightened their own lending standards, in light of the cost of living shock and higher interest rates. overall, we judge that the refreshed mortgage measures framework has been operating in a manner that is consistent with our objectives. finally, on our ongoing policy work to safeguard the resilience of non - bank financial intermediation, we are today publishing a consultation paper on measures to enhance the steady state resilience of irish authorised sterling denominated liability driven investment funds.

amando m tetangco, jr : the credit surety fund – sustaining economic growth through increased credit flows speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the launching of the credit surety fund program, trece martirez city, cavite, 27 august 2008. * * * governor ayong maliksi, distinguished board members of the sangunihang panlalawigan ng cavite and other officials from cavite ’ s local government units – mga mayors at vice mayors, officers and members of cavite ’ s cooperatives, our partners from the micro, small, and medium enterprises sector or what we call msmes, representatives from the industrial guarantee loan fund, representatives from the banking sector, fellow workers in government, special guests. magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat! kami po sa bangko sentral ng pilipinas ay natutuwa dahil ngayon ang panimula ng isang mahalagang programa na tinatawag nating credit surety fund. at dahil mahalaga ito, karamihan sa mga opisyal ng bangko sentral ay nandirito ngayon. ipakikilala ko po sila, umpisa sa mga miyembro ng ating monetary board : kasama po natin si monetary board member alfredo antonio, dating chairman ng development bank of the philippines ; at si monetary board member ignacio bunye, dating press secretary at presidential spokesman. kasama ko rin po ang management team ng bangko sentral, kabilang si deputy governor diwa guinigundo, si assistant governor & general counsel juan de zuniga, jr., at si assistant governor rene carreon, at iba pang mga opisyal ng bsp. the level of our participation in this event speaks volumes about the way we at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas value our msmes. the msme sector represents the backbone of our economy as 99 per cent of registered firms belong to this sector. a recent report of the international finance corporation of the world bank group indicated that loans to msmes comprise twenty - five percent ( 25 % ) of the total loans of the banking system. malaking bahagi po ito ng pautang ng ating mga bangko. kaya