benjamin e diokno : independence policy continuity and institutional statement by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), during a press conference, manila, 8 march 2019. * * * good morning. i am happy to be with you all today at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas. i would like to thank the bsp family for their warm reception on my first day at work in bsp and the monetary board for our very collegial discussions yesterday. invariably, one cannot speak about the bsp without mentioning my immediate predecessor, nestor a. espenilla jr. who spent his career spanning 38 years here. i am sure that he is and will be greatly missed for pushing an agenda centered on financial inclusion, financial learning and consumer protection. rest assured, i will be adopting this agenda with the aim of making financial services more accessible to our larger population. the bsp has fostered an environment for the ideal convergence of stable prices and high economic growth by implementing much - needed reforms during the past 20 years. this has certainly led to favorable and wide - ranging results, including the country ’ s maintenance of its investment - grade credit ratings. as of end - 2018, the country is rated bbb / positive by standard and poor ’ s, bbb / stable by fitch, and baa2 / stable by moody ’ s investors service. a strong institution i am certain that the bsp would not have been able to pursue such difficult reforms without a highly competent workforce that is led by outstanding, capable and intelligent leaders. under the bsp ’ s strategy map 2018 – 2023, i have been duly informed that the officers and staff of this institution are collectively working towards being “ recognized globally as the monetary authority and primary financial system supervisor that supports a strong economy and promotes a high quality of life for all filipinos. ” i would say that you have done this with clear results, as i am now joining a credible central bank that enjoys the trust and confidence of the market in pursuing its mandate of price stability, financial stability and efficient payments system. it is also noteworthy that the bsp is committed to promoting dynamic stakeholder engagement to constantly seek ways to improve delivery of mandates ; organizational agility amid a changing operating environment ; and organizational capability by constantly developing agile, collaborative, motivated, and skilled bsp workers. while i am still taking stock of the full breath of my

x p guma : the challenges facing the bond market in south africa remarks by dr x p guma, deputy governor of the south african reserve bank, at a high - level workshop on “ developing bond markets in emerging economies ”, frankfurt am main, 9 - 10 may 2007. * 1. * * introduction honourable ministers, distinguished guests, fellow participants, ladies and gentlemen, let me begin by thanking the organisers of this workshop for having invited me to participate. it is always beneficial to interact with persons of the calibre present at this the initial invitation was subsequently upgraded to that of “ speaking for about 15 minutes to shed some light on the challenge faced in south africa ” ; a task to which i will devote the next 14 minutes. upgrades are not always without some pain! 2. a brief review of the south african experience there exists at present a relatively sophisticated bond market in south africa, which market has shown significant growth and development since the 1980s when the government issued bonds only on demand : that is, on an open - ended tap basis. at that time, there were no government ( or other ) benchmark bonds ; nor could any refined yield curve be discerned because it did not exist. issuance and secondary - market trading were dominated by government and quasigovernment issued debt, the major issuers being the national treasury, the landbank and public utilities such as eskom, telkom and transnet. the south african reserve bank ( sarb ) served as the principal underwriter. following an investigation by a commission of inquiry chaired by dr j. jacobs 1, the market opted for self - regulation in the form of the bond market association ( bma ), comprising bond issuers, intermediaries, banks, brokers and investors. the sarb was a founding member of ( and active participant in ) this association which attempted to formalise the market, achieve greater depth and increase transparency. in 1996, the bma was granted an exchange license and was transformed into the bond exchange of south africa ( besa ), a development that was facilitated, in part, by the decision taken by the government in 1989, to consolidate smaller issuances in order to create benchmark bonds and, thereby, enhance the liquidity and efficiency of this market. in addition, trading on the gilts floors of the johannesburg stock exchange came to an end in november 1995, shifting to the bma which then operated an informal screen and telephone trading system with