soften economic growth and inflation in the us, and, 3 ) caused some emerging markets to also be leery of the adverse growth effects if deflation becomes more pervasive. bis central bankers ’ speeches with these, the fed may not tighten as previously expected, and even other central banks may ease further. if we add to these factors the unquenchable thirst for yield by investors, we can expect some capital flow volatility as market participants rebalance their portfolios. in sum, ladies and gentlemen, we see three major trends in the global operating environment. 1 ) multi - speed global growth, 2 ) policy divergence among advanced economies, and 3 ) bouts of financial market volatility as global markets rebalance positions in the face of us dollar strength and volatility in commodity markets. notwithstanding this fluid external backdrop, the resilience of our economy is expected to continue. in the aftermath of the gfc, the philippines has been tagged as “ the ” bright spot in asia. for 64 successive quarters, the philippines has been marking positive growth. in 2014, the full year growth of 6. 1 put the philippines second to china among select asian economies. this growth performance is being underpinned by the sustained contributions of the services sector, the recent rebound in manufacturing, and favorable improvements in labor dynamics as we stand at the cusp of what the united nations calls the “ demographic sweet spot ”. indeed, the numbers reflect resiliency. it bears noting that this sustained output growth of the philippine economy was attained in a stable inflation environment. the 2014 full year inflation averaged 4. 1 percent, marking it as the 6th consecutive year that inflation is within the target range of the government. the latest headline inflation was posted at 2. 4 percent in january 2015, well within the target range for 2015 of 2 – 4 percent. meanwhile, money supply continues to be sufficient to support the sustained demand for credit, the bulk of which continues to be channeled to the key production sectors. intermediation of these funds has been safe and efficient owing to our sound and stable banking system. it ’ s worth noting that of the 69 jurisdictions rated by moody ’ s, it was only the philippine banking system which moody ’ s gave a “ positive outlook ” rating to. indeed, our banks have strong balance sheets. banking system car is above both the national and basel standards. the quality of banks ’ loan portfolios ( ukbs ) also continues to be healthy with

bring predictability and certainties to economic agents and generate market signals so as to channel savings into investment. lastly, i have set the greatest challenge for our term of office and for this board, that is, generating credit, medium - term credit in pesos for our companies, so that all those who have dreams in argentina are able to materialize them. i understand that generating credit is not something instantaneous and that it is the central bank role to pave that way through simple, clear, and transparent rules. but it is the financial intermediaries who have to take the necessary chances and fulfill their role as such. i take office with a willingness towards dialog. those who are familiar with my professional career know that this is not the first challenge i have faced as a civil servant. i am a professional that traditionally seeks consensus and dialog with all our institution ’ s officers but also with the private sector, with the productive sectors, in order to set permanent policies. i am persuaded that we have the ability to do so. i come from a three - year term of office in which we have laid the foundations for a foreign trade policy that enables argentina to leave its ideological zeal aside and look outside to the rest of the world. thus, our exports can become a natural source of foreign currency to strengthen the central bank and to provide stability and predictability to the main financial variables. i come to govern this institution with that same spirit of seeking consensus, but essentially i am deeply proud of being able to manage such a group of professionals as you are, with a strong sense of commitment. i am also extremely glad to be part of this board together with these efficient professionals. the efficiency criterion will be the key factor to assess our performance. i will expect and demand efficiency and commitment from every one of you because i myself will set the example. i am very devoted to my job and i demand that commitment from those who work with me. but, since i am a professional of consensus, my style is extremely informal, and i believe that the chain is as important as each of its links and, therefore, your concerns are also my concerns. i do not conceive of a group of people that do not have, firstly, a sense of mission and, secondly, a clear direction, a clear horizon, as well as the ability to respond to the professional and human needs of each. that is why i face this challenge - undoubtedly the major challenge in my professional career -