amando m tetangco, jr : financial capability as a 21st century life skill speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( the central bank of the philippines ), at the citi - ft financial education summit, makati city, 5 december 2012. * * * mr. michael zink, head of asean and singapore citi country officer ; mr. sanjiv vohra, citi country officer for the philippines ; secretary imelda nicolas, chairperson, commission on filipino overseas ; ms. brandee mchale, chief operating officer, citi foundation ; mr. david pilling, financial times asia editor ; ms. kathy hurley, executive vice president, education alliances, pearson foundation ; distinguished resource persons ; experts and practitioners in financial education ; friends who have traveled from other countries ; my colleagues in the bsp ; ladies and gentlemen, good morning everyone! finally, this annual financial education summit is in the philippines. now on its 9th year, it continues to enjoy such high level of interest and support for its relevance to the times. congratulate and thank citi and ft and the other sponsors and organizers of this gathering. for starters, its forum theme “ financial capability as a 21st century life skill ” is an outright declaration that financial capability is a must - have - skill. i agree with this statement. indeed, the ability to make sound financial choices and decisions is essential to ensure one ’ s financial well - being. and yet, most people are sorely lacking in this necessary skill. the summit ’ s keynote session pushes the envelope further : it raises the social, economic and moral imperatives of bridging the financial capability gap. discussions are also bound to be thought - provoking on the topic “ the ultimate financial education challenges – impact, scale and sustainability. ” ladies and gentlemen. the organizers of this summit have brought together world - class finance education experts and advocates to tackle these important issues. the bangko sentral ng pilipinas is therefore pleased that it is a host partner in this financial education summit. for your information, the bsp was also co - host in the last two days of the asia and the pacific regional meeting on child and youth finance organized by the child and youth finance, international. and three months ago, the bsp co - hosted with the oecd in cebu the asian seminar on financial literacy and inclusion. it must be obvious, financial education

practices, share our learnings and exchange ideas. these include : 1 ) the international network for finance education ( infe ) created by oecd to promote and facilitate international cooperation on global financial education issues ; and 2 ) the group of the alliance for financial inclusion ( afi ), which counts as members policy makers and regulators in the developing world who are committed to financial inclusion. ladies and gentlemen. in scaling up its activities for consumer protection, the bsp is also intensifying its information campaign to ensure that intended benefits actually accrue to financial consumers. for instance, we have been working on enhancing transparency in credit transactions to make sure people are not overcharged with “ flat ” interest rates and similar misleading methods. to ensure proper and immediate dissemination of such consumer protection measures, no less than our deputy governors explain the issues through mass media, including radio. this may not mean much to some, but for tricycle drivers, for instance, who pay their motorcycles on instalment, the right to demand correct pricing translates to higher income for him and his family. it is not enough therefore to craft responsive policies. we need to communicate and educate the people on what these means for them. on the other hand, we also need our people to be responsible and vigilant in protecting their rights. indeed, financial capability is a life skill that can lead to a better life. i wish all of you therefore a fruitful and successful financial education summit. thank you and mabuhay! bis central bankers ’ speeches