##ised, including in the report on bulgaria that the oecd presented yesterday. it gives clear messages that key indicators for our banking sector, such as capital adequacy and liquidity, are above the average level not only for the european union, but also for the oecd countries. institutional convergence is therefore not an exercise in itself. it brings significant positive results. fiscal consolidation means restoring our more than 20 - year track record of drawing up and exercising a disciplined budget, which was somewhat lost in the last two years. fiscal consolidation is important both in the short term and in the medium and long term. in the short term, it is important because it is the main macroeconomic tool at our country's disposal to contain and reduce inflation, which, as stated, is the only criterion for joining the euro area that we do not meet. even outside the context of the euro area, fiscal consolidation is important, with a view to avoiding the macroeconomic imbalances we witnessed only a few years ago. one channel for the creation of such imbalances is the increasingly open conflict between the fiscal expansion of the past two years and the ongoing global trend of monetary policy tightening. the two policies must work in sync. the medium and long - term aspect of the fiscal consolidation topic is related to the structural reforms to be carried out in the country. a disciplined regular budget with a realistic medium - term macroeconomic and fiscal forecast will provide the framework needed to accelerate structural reforms in relation to investment, the labour market, perhaps the most serious medium - term risk to our economy, education, social security, social assistance, health care, not forgetting of course energy security. to conclude, let me summarise what i want to say. bulgaria is not in a bad position, yet, in terms of joining the euro area. a large and important part of the road has already been covered through the accession of our country to the european banking union and of the bulgarian lev to the european exchange rate mechanism. in order to complete this process successfully, several groups of tasks need to be completed. first, it is necessary to meet the nominal convergence criteria, with a focus on inflation, which is actually the only criterion we are currently not meeting. second, it is necessary to fulfil pre - accession commitments in the 4 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches areas of the non - banking financial sector, anti - money laundering measures, the management of state - owned enterprises, and the ins

amando m tetangco, jr : leading the way toward growth and development speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the inaugural blessing of the newest branch of one network bank in sasa, davao city, 20 july 2007. * * * archbishop capalla, mayor duterte, the officers and staff of one network bank ( onb ), fellow bankers, special guests, maayong gabi - i sa inyong tanan! on behalf of the bangko sentral ng pilipinas, i congratulate onb on the inaugural of its head office branch, the 65th in its network of branches within mindanao. these 65 branches exclude the five new branches that have just been approved by the bsp. now a leading rural bank, onl has positioned itself as a catalyst for economic growth in mindanao, with a presence bigger than other private banks. one network bank : making a difference in mindanao in particular, onb ’ s support for the agriculture sector including small farmers is most commendable. i understand that onb ’ s loan exposure to agriculture is among the highest in the industry and it continues to grow : it was p1. 1 billion in march 2006 and by march this year it had reached p1. 5 billion! we also recognize the bank ’ s contribution in financing the development of the education, health and services sectors in mindanao through credit facilities that are made available to various institutions such as schools, hospitals, and local government units. in addition, onb has responded positively to bangko sentral ’ s policy to encourage technological innovations that translate to more efficient and convenient ways of facilitating access to banking services. for instance, onb paved the way for the investments by rural and cooperative banks in automated teller machines. in addition, onb ’ s focus to expand its remittance services resulted in partnerships with commercial banks and money transfer companies. onb has also applied for its own fcdu license. this is aligned with bangko sentral ’ s policy to encourage more overseas workers to transact through the banking system. the way forward indeed, judging from its involvement in countryside banking, onb has become a model among rural banks in terms of both financial soundness and social responsibility. tonight, therefore, i ask the men and women of onb to sustain onb ’ s performance and enhance the bank ’ s