[ e - money ] transfers become easier, then the last - mile [ transactions ] in many places 4 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches will actually still be cash. therefore, cash and digital payments are actually complementary to some extent. therefore, the bsp plant in new clark city should have sufficient notes printing capacity. of course, i can be wrong. but my view is, you can make two errors : one is to have a small plant [ built ], and it turns out you need a big one. the other one is to have a big plant [ built ] rather than a small one. i felt that the second error is the least costly error. you can make two errors : not send your wife flowers on valentine's day or insure yourself by ordering the flowers in advance. every married person knows which error is more dangerous. readying buffers in preparation for an uncertain future by the way, that is how i, personally, approach risk management : what are the consequences of the errors? which error should we try to avoid by having buffers? central banking is like that. for all we know, we may not need our forex [ foreign exchange ] reserves. for all we know, our forex reserves may be much larger than we really need. but since we do not know, we would have to build reserves and prepare for the worst. my favorite example is in the bible, which is seven fat cows and seven lean cows. that was the dream of joseph. of course, that was just a saying. the business cycle can be as long as 14 years. therefore, your needs could be bigger. of course, if we have dreamt of two fat cows and two lean cows, it will be a very different business cycle, right? fintechs as partners, collaborators in responsible digital innovation and development let me now go back to you, our partners. fintech [ financial technology ] players will be our collaborators and also major drivers of the digital shift. of course, what i know from experience is that, often, there are industries where the current players may not be the dominant future players. what is important, of course, is regardless of who is doing it in the end, it is all better for the economy and the consumers. in that kind of uncertain world, the bsp will remain supportive of responsible digital financial innovations. while we do not dismiss the risks, i would rather emphasize all the good things that can happen. of

having a credit bureau resulted in the following : first, a marked increase in the volume of lending, particularly to previously excluded sectors like the micro, small and medium enterprises. it said that with a credit bureau, the probability of a small firm obtaining a bank loan increased from 28 % to 40 % ; and second, lower default rates from stronger credit discipline. in brazil, for instance, complete reporting of credit information lowered default rates from 3. 37 percent to 1. 84 percent. in the philippines, a centralized credit bureau could further reduce non - performing loans, which as of last february stood at 5. 6 percent for universal and commercial banks. clearly, a credit information system that will generate such benefits will boost our country ’ s economy and our global competitiveness. i find it fitting therefore that the theme for your 27th national credit congress is “ credit management : key to philippine global competitiveness. ” ladies and gentleman. as of february this year, total outstanding loans of commercial banks, thrift banks and rural banks have reached p1. 97 trillion. compared to a year ago, this is higher by 7. 7 percent. considering that our country ’ s economy, as measured by gross domestic product, is targeted by the government to increase by 6. 1 % - 6. 7 % this year, it is likely that demand for loans will continue to rise as well. economic growth drivers are expected to be exports, agriculture and the services sectors. relatively low borrowing rates should also spur demand for loans, housing included. access to credit is an important element of economic development. the bangko sentral therefore is committed to the “ democratization ” of credit to ensure fair access to credit by all sectors of our economy – from blue - chip companies, to the man on the street, to start - up micro - enterprises. ladies and gentlemen. one of the challenges before us is to ensure that our microenterprises gain more access to credit. already, we have made big strides in encouraging banks to do microfinance. today, more than 200 banks are providing microfinance services to over 650, 000 micro borrowers, with a total loan portfolio of over p4 billion. if we factor in the microfinance activities of cooperatives and ngos, nearly two million filipino households now enjoy access to microfinance services. nevertheless, with millions of filipinos still living in poverty, we have to work harder and faster in terms of empowering our entrepreneurial poor. there is one important