reforms that could foster strong and faster economic rebound. this includes passage of the financial institutions strategic transfer or fist act ( ra 11523 ) and the corporate recovery and tax incentives for enterprises or create act ( ra 11534 ). meanwhile, the proposed government financial institutions unified initiatives to distressed enterprises for economic recovery or guide bill aims to strengthen the capacity of government financial institutions to assist micro, small, and medium enterprises ( msmes ) to cope with the effects of covid - 19. complementing the government ’ s responses, the bsp has implemented temporary and timebound policy measures. first were measures to boost market confidence, such as cuts in the policy rate and the reserve requirement. the lower policy rate was meant to influence banks to slash their own lending rates, thereby promoting credit - taking activities. meanwhile, lower reserve requirements increased the volume of loanable funds. second were extraordinary liquidity measures to the national government ( ng ) to help fund the pandemic - response measures. these include provisional advances to the national government, purchases of government securities ( gs ) in the secondary market, and remittance of advance dividends. third were regulatory and operational relief measures to maintain stability of the financial system and ensure public access to financial services. we counted loans to micro, small, and medium enterprises ( msmes ) as compliance to the reserve requirement, increased the single borrower ’ s limit, and raised the ceiling for real - estate loans. we also excluded some loans from the “ past - due ” and “ non - performing ” classification and allowed a grace period for loan settlement and restructuring of rediscounted loans. in our latest policy meeting on february 17, 2022, the monetary board kept the key policy interest rate steady at a historic low of 2. 0 percent. the monetary board deems it prudent to maintain the bsp ’ s accommodative policy stance given a manageable inflation environment and emerging uncertainty surrounding domestic and global growth prospects. 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches through its liquidity - easing measures, the bsp has injected into the financial system about ₱2. 2 trillion ( or approximately us $ 42. 9 billion ) in liquidity, equivalent ; this is around 11. 1 percent of the country ’ s nominal gdp. following the bsp ’ s cumulative 200 - basis point reductions in the policy rate in response to the crisis, domestic market rates have dropped. despite the pandemic, international observers continue to have confidence in

is expected to be uneven between advanced and emerging market economies. the path to recovery will depend on the reach of mass vaccination and the effectiveness of policy support. 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches furthermore, the uneven exit from the pandemic may pose varied challenges to policymakers, as tightening monetary conditions in advanced economies may affect the recovery path of emerging economies that rely on international financing. there is also the increase in inflation, both in advanced and emes, due to firming demand, input shortages caused by supply - chain bottlenecks resulting from mobility restrictions and weather disruptions, and rapidly rising commodity prices. also, as we have witnessed since the start of 2022, the potential emergence and spread of new variants is an ongoing threat. elevated global commodity prices, heightened geopolitical tensions, as for example, the russiaukraine conflict, and the uneven pace of vaccinations across jurisdictions could dampen the outlook for global economic recovery. moving forward, the bsp ’ s actions and policy thrusts will continue to be anchored on its core mandates of promoting price and financial stability. on monetary policy, the bsp will remain vigilant over the current inflation dynamics to ensure that the monetary policy stance continues to support economic recovery to the extent that the inflation outlook would allow. on the financial sector, the bsp will intensify its monitoring and surveillance ensure that supervised financial institutions remain responsive to emerging risks and demonstrate soundness, stability, resilience, and inclusivity such as through pursuit of digitization. finally, on the external sector, the bsp will remain supportive of policies that will help strengthen the economy ’ s resilience to external shocks, including that of maintaining a market - determined exchange rate, keeping a comfortable level of reserves, and maintaining the country ’ s external debt manageable. allow me to end my presentation with these key points : the country ’ s macroeconomic fundamentals remain sound. the latest gdp growth suggests that the philippine economy on a path of a strong recovery the latest baseline inflation forecasts are within the target range. the risks to the inflation outlook continue to lean slightly toward the upside for 2022 but remain broadly balanced for 2023. banks remain sound and well capitalized. external position is robust, with more - than - adequate external liquidity buffer. risks and uncertainties remain but sustained implementation of targeted fiscal initiatives as well as acceleration of the government ’ s vaccination program should help boost market confidence and economic recovery