year. the philippine banking system has remained sound amid the covid - 19 pandemic. the banking system ’ s total resources grew year - on - year by 6. 6 percent to p20. 1 trillion as of end - october 2021. asset expanded by 8. 6 percent to p15. 6 trillion, funded mainly by deposits, reflecting continued trust and confidence of the public in the banking system. bank lending has improved. as of end - october 2021, banks ’ total loan portfolio expanded yearon - year by 3. 3 percent to p11. 0 trillion. non - performing loans ratio remained manageable at 4. 4 percent over the same period. 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches banks remained profitable, recording an annualized net profit growth of 8. 5 percent last year. capitalization remained ample, with the capital adequacy ratio staying well above the bsp ’ s 10 percent minimum requirement and the 8 percent prescribed by the bank for international settlements. liquidity buffers stayed sufficient, with the liquidity coverage ratio of universal and commercial banks above the 100 percent minimum threshold. while the covid - 19 crisis has brought challenges, it helped accelerate financial digitalization and inclusion. more people started to embrace digital payment platforms and created electronic financial accounts. even before the pandemic, we launched the digital payments transformation roadmap with the twin goals to first, digitize at least half of the total volume of financial transactions and second, have at least 70 percent of filipino adults owning transaction accounts by 2023. to help achieve these goals, we have implemented the digital banking framework, which provides the rules for the establishment of digital banks. in addition, we created the open finance framework, which provides the rules for consent driven use of information for the development of financial instruments that cater to the needs of customers. we are also exploring the digital financial marketplace model, which will allow bank and non - bank players to forge strategic partnerships in enabling consumers to access financial products and services through a one - stop shop platform. we also launched qr ph, which has two use - cases : qr ph person - to - merchant or p2m and qr ph person - to - person payment or p2p. qr ph p2m can help scale the services provided under qr ph, and empower micro, small, or even informal merchants such as sari - sari store owners, wet market vendors, or tricycle drivers. against this backdrop

real convergence, the 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches development gaps across the regions of romania have actually increased. such a status quo is not beneficial, for instance, in the context of euro adoption, as it favours asymmetric shocks and uneven effects of public policies. these imbalances can be mitigated, first and foremost, through investment in infrastructure. for instance, the construction of highways is essential for connecting romania ’ s regions, encouraging regional trade and investment, with favourable effects on regional development and cohesion inside the country. 3. looking for a way out of a labour market dilemma another area that deserves particular attention is the labour market, at a time when the romanian one is facing considerable challenges. as a catching - up open economy, within a european union based on the free movement of capital and labour, our country was bound to find itself in a dilemma sooner or later. more precisely, there are contradictory arguments with regard to the adequate path of the wage level in the romanian economy. on the one hand, wages should be governed by productivity dynamics, so as not to erode the competitive position. on the other hand, they cannot be considerably below those in other economies, as this would simply result in a labour force drain, with dramatic consequences if not addressed quickly. specifically, we are facing an emigration problem today, as more than three million romanians ( a significant percentage of the population ) have left their homeland for other eu member states. therefore, to limit emigration, wages should increase. as noted above, the only way to do that without hindering competitiveness is to boost productivity. foreign direct investment has helped total factor productivity in recent years, yet if wages reach too high levels, attracting investment may become a problem. we therefore need to ensure that wage levels are compatible with attracting investors, but at the same time acknowledging that, at least in certain areas, wages need to go up at present, in order to mitigate the labour force drain that affects the private and public sectors alike. however, pay rises in the private sector should not be triggered only by an increase in public sector wages. while raising the minimum wage has been necessary, we should be very careful not to hurt employers, as they represent an important engine of the economy. the key is, in my opinion, to increase wages at an adequate, sustainable pace, in order for romanians to ultimately benefit from an improved living climate reflected in a higher purchasing power, but also from preserved macroeconomic