benjamin e diokno : philippines - traversing the path to economic recovery speech by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the eastern communication e - huddle webinar series “ making remote work and creating opportunities ”, 4 may 2021. * * * good afternoon to all the participants and to my fellow speakers! it is an honor to be part of this e - huddle virtual webinar series organized by eastern communications. the bsp always welcomes the opportunity to engage with industries and share its views on recent philippine economic developments as well as the bsp ’ s policy thrust towards helping banks and corporates recover and adapt to the emerging new normal environment. allow me to highlight the following points in my keynote presentation : first, i will start with a discussion on the state of the philippine economy amid the pandemic. it has been a year since the onset of covid - 19 in the country, and like other economies across the globe, the country ’ s economy has been affected by the shocks from the health crisis. second, i will highlight the bsp ’ s policy initiatives in helping the country weather the economic and financial headwinds from the pandemic. as you are aware, the bsp together with the national government, has put in place extraordinary measures to ensure stability and minimize the scarring effects of the pandemic on the financial system and the economy. i will also touch on some of the bsp ’ s digitalization efforts that support economic recovery. third, i will discuss how banks are incorporating sustainable finance efforts to ensure business continuity, given the long - term social and economic effects of the pandemic and climate change. the year 2020 has been particularly challenging for the philippine economy due to the unprecedented covid - 19 crisis. yet, some of the key economic indicators in 2020 show that the country ’ s macroeconomic fundamentals remained broadly intact, even at the peak of the covid - 19 crisis as evidenced by : the quarter - on - quarter improvements in gdp outturn towards year - end ; within - target inflation ; ample system liquidity ; sound and stable banking system ; robust external payments position ; and manageable fiscal deficit. like many other countries, the philippines was severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. during the year, we saw the country ’ s gdp drop to a historic low of – 9.

be helpful to discuss the consequences of bad or good ethical and social responsibility practices in particular institutions, here and overseas. of course, running after a healthy bottom line is a valid and natural pursuit. however, this should be done within the parameters of ethical and social responsibility standards, if the intention is to stay in business for the long haul. in fact, studies have repeatedly shown that given a choice, customers, particularly the youth, support companies they perceive as more trustworthy and socially responsible. another reason why the bangko sentral supports this annual event is our belief that fair and open competition elicits the best possible performance from market players which in turn benefits their customers. as such, i look forward to this competition where the final 20 teams will apply their holistic competence in crafting their answers. bis central bankers ’ speeches ladies and gentlemen, the students here today remind us that with good mentoring and support from their school, family, friends, and industry groups they will be prepared for the challenges they will face in the market place. for us in the central bank, we derive considerable pleasure in the thought that we are nurturing world - class and responsible financial leaders. a word of advice to our young competitors : a wise man once said, winning is a great reward but preparing for the future is the greater prize. i wish therefore that all of you will continue to maintain the high standards of discipline that have brought you here. i also wish that you will apply your learnings to achieve financial health for yourself and mentor your family, friends and your larger community to achieve the same. this is the same rationale that underpins the bangko sentral ’ s economic and financial education program. our objective is to empower our people to improve their financial wellbeing by making informed decisions on saving, investing and managing their resources. in addition, having a well - informed population on basic economic and financial concepts contributes to financial stability as more filipinos become participants in our financial mainstream. for your information, latest available figures indicate that only about 20 % of filipino households have bank accounts. nevertheless, we are optimistic that given our ongoing national campaign to broaden and deepen the reach of our financial education program, this indicator is bound to improve. our economic and financial education program covers students starting from grade i to college, to teachers and parents, to overseas filipinos and their dependents, and the general public. of course we implement this in partnership with other institutions such as the department of education