carefully targeted fiscal support will help boost consumer and business sentiment and lead the economy to its sustainable growth path. building confidence in the fundamental strength of the philippine economy in an environment of uncertainty and volatility requires skillful handling of our policy levers. moving forward, we anticipate the communication challenges related to the scaling back of the accommodative monetary policies, when necessary, as economic recovery gets underway. monetary policy needs to be flexible to shifts in economic and market conditions. as the bsp closely monitors any emerging risks to financial stability, various macroprudential measures and monitoring tools remain in place. we also look at external risk factors, including global economic growth and shifts in monetary policy in major economies, as we assess how they can impact domestic financial and growth conditions. more importantly, an integral part of the bsp ’ s policy agenda is making sure that the philippines is able to get back on a balanced and sustainable growth path as soon as possible. in this regard, the bsp is working closely with the national government to advance the structural reform agenda, including transforming the financial landscape so that it is future - ready through digitalization and environmentally sustainable practices. digital payments transformation has been helping us cope with the mobility restrictions put in 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches place. it is a good thing that the country had been gradually embracing financial technology even before the pandemic hit. the rapid acceleration of digital transformation was in fact catalyzed by the covid - 19 pandemic. in 2020, the volume of pesonet transfers surged to 15. 3 million, up by 376 percent year - onyear. the value of pesonet transactions rose by 188 percent, year - on - year, to reach nearly 951. 6 billion pesos — equivalent to about 5. 3 percent of the country ’ s gdp. in the same period, the number of payments made through instapay reached 86. 7 million, up by 459 percent year - on - year. said transactions were valued at 463. 4 billion pesos, which was a 340 - percent increase year - on - year. this amount of instapay transactions is equivalent to about 2. 6 percent of gdp. the bsp took this opportunity to advance initiatives that would push digitalization in the financial industry even further. to this end, launched the digital payments transformation roadmap last year. the roadmap identifies two critical strategic objectives. the first objective

benjamin e diokno : the role of capital markets in championing the sustainability agenda speech by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the omfif - dz bank sustainability symposium, 3 march 2021. * * * distinguished guests, esteemed officials of the omfif and dz bank, participants, ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant morning, afternoon and evening to all – as i understand this event spans over different time zones. first, i would like to thank the organizers from omfif and dz bank for inviting me to join this virtual sustainability symposium. the theme, “ the role of capital markets in championing the sustainability agenda ”, is timely and relevant as the world continues to wage the battle against the covid - 19 pandemic. on top of the economic costs due to the pandemic, the risks emanating from unchecked climate change puts a tragic toll on the environment. there are also social inequalities and injustices that give rise to poverty and starvation in some parts of the world. so, what is the role of capital markets amidst these emergency situations we are in? when we talk about capital markets, the first thing that comes to mind is financial intermediation. the capital market works as a link between those that have unused surplus savings and end - users who are in search of funds to support their operations. while a capital market enables the channeling of funds among different parties for varying reasons, it is important to emphasize that those funds are directed to critical and responsible use. the phrase “ critical and responsible use ”, pertains to utilizing those funds for a “ right purpose ”. as such, the driving force behind financing through the capital market is not only directed towards economic growth and financial stability, but more so on incorporating sustainability goals. at this point, let us look more closely at sustainability principles and goals. why are they relevant and is there really a compelling reason to leverage the capital markets towards meeting a sustainability agenda? i am very sure that all of us will agree that the answer is yes! indeed, capital markets have the power to mobilize capital to fund innovation and ideas that would help create a more sustainable environment. according to the bank for international settlements data, as of end - january 2021, the amount of outstanding sustainable bonds was about us $ 1. 5 trillion, of which 75 pre