are just a step away from securing a single - a rating from s & p global. we are keen on hitting the minimum rating within the a territory over the next two years or so. of course, higher credit ratings are not an end goal in themselves. it is also a means to generate greater benefits for filipinos through translating economic growth to actual poverty reduction. with higher credit ratings, interest rates on government borrowings drop, which leads to savings on interest payments and, therefore, more fiscal space to fund infrastructure projects and social services. securing higher credit ratings requires the philippines to post even better numbers on various metrics on the economy, parallel to those exhibited by higher rated and richer economies. as such, aiming for a ratings goes hand in hand with the goal for the philippines to graduate into an upper middle income economy over the short term and to a high income economy over the long haul. then again, this is something no institution can singlehandedly accomplish. this requires concerted effort among all concerned institutions, public and private. as governor of the bsp, my personal aim is to bring bsp closer to the people. the primary means to do so is to vigorously pursue initiatives geared toward greater financial inclusion. we believe that with easier access to financial products and services, people are accorded more opportunities to pursue savings, investments, and entrepreneurial activities that help augment incomes. we are doing this through the following ( 1 ) financial technology, ( 2 ) financial education, and capital market development. on financial technology, the bsp continues to enable a regulatory environment supportive of the development of financial technology ( fintech ), while at the same time ensuring strengthened relevant risk governance and consumer protection systems. we want to advance the country ’ s digital financial ecosystem in such a way that every individual is able to open a deposit account and use digital financial services through simplified requirements and interoperable payment systems. under the bsp ’ s national retail payment system ( nrps ) framework, we have started implementation of the two interoperable payments systems, particularly the instapay for low value payments settled in real time and the pesonet for bigger amounts of payments settled typically within the same banking day. as of april 2019, there are 50 participants in the pesonet and 39 in the instapay. we expect more over the near term. on financial education, the bsp is partnering with various institutions so that we are able to teach its concepts and principles to our target

with financial stability. we are seen as one of the fastest growing and most resilient economies in the region and the world. the economy has experienced sustained uninterrupted expansion for the past 74 consecutive quarters — spanning 18 years! over the past five years, the domestic economy expanded by more than 6 percent annually, providing more opportunities across all segments of society. traditional central banking let me share an open secret : central banks worldwide ( and the bsp is no exception ) are traditionally conservative institutions and some would argue, boring. understandably so since stability is our main concern. thus, doing novel things may not be intuitively consistent with this goal. 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches in its invitation, the wtcmm asked me to share my plans and programs in the continuity of providing the country a strong monetary and financial system. this is really the traditional part of central banking, focusing on our core mandates of price and financial stability. the bsp adopted the inflation targeting framework in 2002 to achieve low and stable inflation. this was accomplished, providing credibility to what we do as a monetary authority. inflation continues to remain low and stable with well - anchored inflation expectations. headline inflation rose to 3. 4 percent year - on - year in september, making the resulting year - to - date average inflation rate of 3. 1 percent within the government ’ s target range of 3. 0 percent ± 1. 0 percentage point for 2017. we expect to sustain this through 2018 to 2019 based on our forecast. in 2016, we formally adopted the interest rate corridor ( irc ) system, which enhances the link between the bsp ’ s monetary policy stance and financial markets. the primary benefit of the adoption of an irc system in the philippines is the strengthening of monetary policy transmission by ensuring that money market interest rates are meaningfully influenced by the bsp ’ s policy rate. we continue to refine the implementation of the irc system to make it more marketfriendly. our financial sector also demonstrates stability and robust growth. domestic liquidity conditions remain ample to support lending. banks remain strong, supported by a stable capital base and satisfactory asset quality. the non - performing loan ratio ( npl ) is down to just 2. 0 percent as of end - august 2017. actually, it ’ s negative if we net out the generous allowance for loan losses. as of end - june 2017, capital adequacy ratio ( car ) of universal and commercial banks is very