than p 107 billion, allowing the rural banking sector to provide more loans for agriculture as well as micro, small and medium enterprises. our figures indicate that nearly half of the rural banks ’ total loan portfolio of p106. 6 billion in december 2008 went to agri - gra loans. i am also pleased to note that loans granted by rural banks in 2008 went up in 13 of our 17 regions. the business of rural banking has likewise been profitable with net income after tax at more than p 3 billion in 2008, slightly higher than the 2007 level. a clear indicator of the rural banking sector ’ s strength is its strong capital position : its capital adequacy ratio at 13. 8 % as of september 2008 remains well above the bsp ’ s mandatory standard of 10 %. of course, your car remains a bit lower than that for our thrift banks and universal / commercial banks. still, 13. 8 % car of rural banks compares well with the overall car of the banking sector in malaysia with at 12. 6 % and korea with 11. 2 %. and so, ladies and gentlemen, let us celebrate the continued growth and development of the philippine rural banking sector with a long round of applause! nevertheless, these positive indicators must not lull us into a false sense of complacency. the rural banking industry achieved these by maintaining business discipline. and clearly, rural banks stand to perform even better if all members of rbap will work on having even stronger capital positions, become more vigilant in managing liquidity and credit risks, and faithfully adhere to the good governance tenets of fairness, accountability and transparency. i am happy to know therefore that we are on the same page, so to speak, as your convention theme this year is “ banking on governance. ” as declared by the organization for economic cooperation and development ( oecd ), good corporate governance is key not only to the integrity of corporations, financial institutions and markets it is also central to the health and stability of our economies. further, an oecd study released this year entitled “ corporate governance lessons from the financial crisis ” concluded that to an important extent, the current financial crisis can be attributed to failures and weaknesses in corporate governance arrangements. the choice of governance as the central theme for your convention is therefore timely as it is compelling. i take this as a message of the deep commitment of rural banks to good governance principles, strong capital buildup, and better liquidity and risk management

be examined in terms of the macroeconomic transmission and influence of monetary easing. in sum, with interest rates at historically low levels, monetary policy design going forward necessitates a new paradigm of monetary economics, by broadening the focus of analysis from short - term interest rates to the entire yield curve. conclusion today, i was able to discuss only a couple of topics that are covered in the bank of japan's " comprehensive assessment. " in fact, we have conducted in - depth analyses of hotly debated issues in monetary policy, including the impact of large - scale government bond purchases on long - term interest rates, the mechanisms of inflation expectation formation, and the effects and impact of the negative interest rate policy. as i mentioned at the outset, monetary policy under a low - growth, low - inflation environment is becoming a challenge that major economies around the world have in common. to conclude my remarks, i sincerely hope that the bank's " comprehensive assessment " and the introduction of the new policy framework based on this assessment will contribute to constructive debate in this field. thank you very much for your attention.