with the bank. it is, therefore, crucial that while driving various tech - enabled initiatives, the existing systems and processes do not see frequent disruptions and non - availability. we have already seen instances of the damage that disruptions in technology systems can bring and the reputation risk they carry for financial entities. a casual approach to handling technology issues even as basic as wrongful deletion of a single system file or inadequate care in patch updating often lead to financial and operational losses. 10. the it systems and platforms are also exposed to obsolescence and require frequent upgradation. this calls for adequate investment in it infrastructure by all financial sector entities. this is one of the important focus areas of rbi ’ s supervision of its regulated entities, especially the banks and the nbfcs. 11. it has also to be recognised that human resource can turn out to be the weakest link in technology enabled financial services. there is thus a vital need for ongoing training and skill building programmes. 12. at end of the day, the bottomline is how technology improves the financial system in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, resolving bottlenecks in economic functions and provide value addition to the customers. collaboration between finance and technology firms 13. large technology companies ( bigtech ) which have entered into provision of financial services could potentially be another source of disruption to the financial system. as you would be aware, such companies, whether from e - commerce, social media and search engine platforms, ride hailing and similar businesses have started to offer financial services in a big way on their own or on behalf of others. these companies have an enormous amount of customer data which has helped them to offer tailored financial services to entities and individuals lacking credit history or collateral. even the banks and other lenders are sometimes utilising platforms provided by fintech companies in their internal processes for credit risk assessment. such large scale use of new methodologies in credit risk assessment can create systemic concerns like over - leverage, inadequate credit assessment, etc. authorities and regulators have to strike a fine balance between enabling innovation and preventing systemic risks. 14. the big techs also pose concerns related to competition, data protection, data sharing and operational resilience of critical services in situations where banks and nbfcs utilise the services of big tech companies. these concerns can also materialise in sectors other than financial services. the provision of financial services through the digital channel, including lending through online platforms and mobile apps, have brought in issues

amando tetangco : the philippine banking system - the past, the present and the future speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the 2017 annual reception for the banking community, manila, 10 january 2017. * * * it is a tradition that we host this reception at the beginning of the year, when we commemorate the anniversary of central banking in the philippines. for the information of those among us who are too young to remember, the central bank of the philippines or the cbp opened for business for the first time on january 3, 1949 ; that ’ s 68 years ago. and while the country ’ s central monetary authority is now the bangko sentral ng pilipinas — whose 24th anniversary we will celebrate on july 3, 2017 – we maintain the tradition of holding this annual event at the beginning of the year. to us, this is the perfect time to reflect on the past, the present, the future and how we can make things work even better, moving forward as one community. 2016 has been described as a year like no other – it started off with a bang, with china ’ s stock market on a seeming free fall that shook global markets ; we saw for the most part of the year global anxiety over the timing, pace and magnitude of the us fed policy rate decision ; by midyear, the unexpected brexit results shocked us ; then came the surprise victory of us presidentelect donald trump. 2016 ended with the world uncertain over global politics and policies and how these would impact on economies and people. indeed, 2016 brought volatility, uncertainty and other threats to growth and stability. in the philippines, strong fundamentals borne out of the continuing pursuit of a reform agenda, kept our economy going … and growing. and once again, we achieved convergence of low inflation ( below 2 % ) and healthy growth. the philippine economy grew by a 7. 0 % in the first three quarters of 2016, giving us the distinction of being among the fastest growing economies in asia. and it is broad - based growth we can be proud of : it was supported by a strong services sector, a resurging industry and manufacturing sector, a rebounding agriculture sector, and robust consumption and capital formation. our external position also provided additional support to the economy. the peso remained in line with regional movements, while our current account continued to