a safety net for entrepreneurs, especially those who commit personal assets to start a business and personally guarantee loans to the new venture. a 2008 study that compared self - employment in 15 countries in europe and north america between 1990 and 2005 found that more forgiving personal bankruptcy laws combined with ready access to limited liability protections, enhance entrepreneurial activity. furthermore, when the laws also provide for a well - managed redeployment of assets to more productive firms, jobs are preserved. a corporate reorganization code in colombia enacted in 1999 dramatically improved the efficiency of reorganization proceedings, its duration fell from an average of 34 months to 12 months. effective reorganization in countries such as colombia allowed a company ’ s workforce to remain employed and productive. from a financial stability perspective, effective insolvency laws help to reduce market disruption. in chile, for instance, the introduction of economic insolvency advisors – who were tasked to first determine the viability of firms in financial distress as basis for insolvency proceedings to commence – laid a foundation for the smooth processing of insolvency proceedings. it allowed chile to improve the recovery rate of distressed firms ’ creditors from 19 cents on the dollar in 2004 to 30 cents in 2013. what is the relevance of fria to central banking? some of you may be wondering – why the central bank governor is speaking at a seminar on insolvency and recovery. particularly given that, the resolution processes for banks is covered under another set of laws and regulations, not the fria. i asked your president, atty. lim the same question when he invited me. he reminded me of the ardent support of the bsp during the deliberations of the law. i guess, the answer to that question therefore is – as both francis and i agreed – the fria is important to the bsp as well, just as it is to you. in fact, while deliberations in congress on the fria were on - going, the bsp did parallel work on formally adopting financial stability as a policy objective. you may ask, how is financial stability related to fria? i submit [ as i alluded to earlier ] that, if fria is well implemented, it will help promote and advance financial stability in our country. there is no textbook definition for financial stability. but in the bsp, we define financial stability as that desirable state that is achieved when the governance framework of the market and its financial infrastructure enable and ensure the smooth functioning of

finance and digital banking frameworks to accelerate digital transformation and financial inclusion. the open finance framework promotes consent - driven data portability, interoperability, and collaborative partnerships among entities that adhere to the same standards of data security and privacy. in line with our digital transformation roadmap, the bsp has issued licenses to six purely digital banks. the bsp has also commenced initiatives in the digitalization of offshore payments. we are prioritizing the establishment of interoperable cross - border real - time retail payment systems among asean member states. moving on to sustainable finance... for us at the bsp, sustainability will serve as our guidepost in rebuilding the post - covid 19 economy. it is crucial that sustainability principles are part of how institutions are governed. as such, the bsp is actively collaborating with government agencies and regulators through the interagency technical working group on sustainable finance or what we call the “ green force ” to form a cohesive action plan to institutionalize and accelerate the growth of sustainable finance. data shows that 24 percent or 119 out of 499 banks have adopted their respective sustainable transition plans. banks have issued around 1. 15 billion us dollars and 152. 9 billion pesos worth of green, social and sustainability bonds since 2017. in leading by example, the bsp has invested 550 million us dollars in the green bond funds of the bank for international settlements to promote investments in sustainable or green finance assets. we also acknowledge the critical legislation complementing our regulatory reforms and initiatives. these bills include financial consumer protection act, which will afford the financial sector regulators the authority to enforce prudent and customer - centric standards of conduct, including the power to adjudicate customer complaints. the fcpa is in the office of the president for signature. the agri agra bill is seen to enhance access by rural communities to private sector financing. this bill is pending for bicameral conference. meanwhile, the digital payments bill seeks to promote digital payment systems, particularly in all government agencies. this is currently approved in the house of representatives on third reading and pending in the senate committee on banks. the government financial institutions unified initiatives to distressed enterprises for economic recovery act or the guide bill seeks to strengthen the capacity of the landbank and development bank of the philippines to provide access to credit to distressed enterprises as a result of the pandemic. this bill is approved in the house of representatives on third reading and pending in the senate committee on banks. there is also the