associated with the use of international “ switch ” to connect the three networks. moving forward, our goal is to have further improvements so that we will have a remittance system based on transparency, efficiency, security and fair prices. the second challenge for our banks is to help in the national effort to encourage overseas workers and their beneficiaries to channel a higher percentage of their money to deposits and other productive activities possibly linking this to microfinance and small enterprise lending. as other speakers mentioned earlier, there is a full range of banking services that can be offered to overseas workers and their families. in line with its ongoing advocacy programs, the bangko sentral is undertaking a nationwide financial literacy campaign to help channel remittances to development activities and to promote a culture of saving among ofws and their families. the financial literacy program emphasizes the importance of savings and introduces the participants to alternative opportunities for their remittances, such as placements in financial instruments and investments in business ventures. in summary, the philippine central bank ’ s initiatives to further improve the environment for overseas filipino workers ’ ( ofws ) remittance flows will continue to be anchored on five principles, namely : 1. enhancing transparency and promoting competition in the remittance market to lower remittance charges ; 2. improving the country ’ s payments and settlement systems to facilitate faster, safer and more efficient transfer of funds to beneficiaries ; 3. improving access to financial services ; 4. encouraging ofws and their families to increase savings and investments ; and 5. promoting advocacy programs to cultivate financial literacy among ofws and their families. ladies and gentlemen. the bsp recognizes the valuable contribution of ofws in expanding the foreign exchange available for meeting the economy ’ s requirements, as well as the efforts of institutions that help improve the remittance environment, including remitting banks, private remittance companies, and other government agencies. we are therefore looking forward to a fruitful exchange in this meeting of the wsbi to help us provide better, faster and more cost - efficient services to our overseas workers who have helped empower our countries to grow at a healthy rate, on a more sustained basis. may you have a successful conference and a happy stay in our country. thank you all and mabuhay!

on your future program of the bsp and the banking sector. that the number of participating banks has increased from 10 ( in 2012 ) to 17 today is a good sign – rightfully, our banks are taking the long view that this is a developmental undertaking that will ultimately benefit not only young depositors but also our banks and our economy as a whole. let us therefore acknowledge the participating banks who have welcomed more than a million kiddie savers. the top three banks with the highest number of kiddie savers are bdo, bpi and pnb, followed by rcbc savings, security bank, psbank, eastwest bank, veterans bank, development bank of the philippines, and china savings bank. let us also acknowledge the additional banks under our new memorandum of agreement : bpi 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches family savings bank, rcbc, maybank, ucpb, ucpb savings bank, sterling bank and metrobank. we look forward to higher numbers under this expanded kiddie and teen account program. our second milestone this afternoon is the awarding of our outstanding teachers for financial education under the deped - bsp ’ s gantimpala para sa ulirang pagtuturo ng pag - iimpok at araling pansalapi, more popularly known as guro ng pag - asa. using teaching guides jointly developed by deped and the bsp, teachers developed creative and effective ways to impart lessons on saving, money management and basic entrepreneurship to their pupils. the common denominator among our awardees is that they have also brought financial education to their communities to help improve lives. in other words, they have become agents of positive change not only in their schools but also in their communities. at the same time, our student - awardee this year for bida sa pag - iimpok and pangkabuhayan is remarkable not only for his good money habits but also for his entrepreneurial drive and social consciousness. he donated a sewing machine to a person with a disability so that she could start her own entrepreneurial venture. indeed, we are heartened by stories about children who took financial lessons to heart and went on to inspire their families to adopt sound financial habits. let us give all our awardees a well - deserved round of applause. let us also thank those who have worked behind the scenes to make our guro ng pag - asa program a success — the board of judges, represented