##bit of traditional monetary policy. 4 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches i am talking about the need to support inclusive growth. the bsp ’ s effective pursuit of our primary mandate of maintaining price stability puts the country in a better position to attain inclusive growth. we foster a macroeconomic environment conducive for investments and supportive of job generation and employment. however, maximizing the impact of the bsp ’ s policies on the lives of filipinos entails that we tackle the inclusive growth advocacy directly. i am heartened by the thought that the recent banking sector outlook survey showed that most thrift banks believe that business growth may be maintained by developing new capabilities and by expanding market reach, digitally or through new products and services. this is what i refer to as the bsp multiplier or the bsp ’ s ability to improve every single juan and maria ’ s quality of life. towards this end, you can expect the bsp to continue to focus on this goal and integrate our financial inclusion advocacy with our traditional objectives. the bsp is working hard to bring central banking operations to the people, of course with your help. we are committed to advancing our financial inclusion, financial education, and consumer protection agenda to ensure that everybody is given the opportunity to ride in this economic growth. a bsp that is closer to the people for us to be able to succeed in a transitioning global environment, we need to build our strengths, be more responsive, and sometimes go beyond conventions. the bsp is aware that our efforts cannot stand alone. to keep the engine running, both the public and private sectors must share in the responsibility of making sure that no filipino is left behind. i therefore thank the ctb and the thrift bank community for supporting the bsp and its thrust on financial inclusion. rest assured, you can count on the bsp to walk closely with you in our country ’ s journey towards inclusive growth. thank you and mabuhay tayong lahat! 5 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches

year, inflation had declined to 4. 1 percent, compared to 7. 4 percent in december 2012. in the event, price increases were subdued across a broad range of goods and services, including food. in fact, commodity groups representing about 90 percent of goods and services in the consumer price index basket were within the objective range. overall, inflation excluding administered prices decreased from 6. 8 percent in december 2012 to 4. 7 percent in december 2013, while the 16 percent trimmed mean measure of core inflation fell from 7. 1 percent to 4 percent. the sustained decline in inflation was due to a dissipation of the impact of the increase in administered prices effected in 2012. the moderate increase in prices was also indicative of benign domestic demand pressures. the impact of government spending on economic activity was small in the context of fiscal consolidation measures, with annual government expenditure growth limited to only 2 percent. to some extent, demand was supported by continued growth in commercial bank credit, especially to households, which went up at a faster rate, from 21 percent in december 2012 to 24. 2 percent by the end of 2013. it was observed that growth in household credit was led by mortgage lending, which grew by 43. 3 percent. the continued rapid expansion in household credit also reflected, in part, some improvements in financial services provision and financial inclusion. nevertheless, the level of household debt, which is dominated by personal loans, in an environment of slow growth in incomes, is a cause for concern. while current indicators, such as low default ratios, suggest that widespread default risks are not imminent, the related emerging debt repayment burden for households warrants close attention. in contrast, there was a marked deceleration in the growth of business credit, from 26. 8 percent in december 2012 to only 4. 6 percent in december 2013. the slowdown in the growth of business credit is reflected in virtually all economic sectors, and is in line with the moderation of growth in economic activity. for instance, the annual growth in non - mining gdp slowed to 5. 1 percent in the twelve months to september 2013, compared to 8 percent a year earlier. honoured guests : implementation of monetary policy in the past year posed an interesting challenge. from a global perspective, there was sluggish demand, weak economic activity, lacklustre financial intermediation and benign inflationary pressures. all the same, there was positive sentiment bis central bankers ’ speeches flowing from faster output growth and decreasing unemployment rates in the