benjamin e diokno : a strong nation amid a slowing and volatile world speech by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the general membership meeting and economic briefing, manila, 6 february 2020. * * * officers and members of the management association of the philippines ( map ) led by its president, atty. francisco ed lim, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. for today, i chose the theme, “ a strong nation amid a slowing and volatile world, ” which encapsulates the bsp ’ s insights on the country ’ s economic performance in 2019 and the outlook for 2020 and beyond. let us have a quick overview of the global economy in 2019 and how major global economic movers – us, the euro area, japan and china – are expected to perform in 2020. the international monetary fund ’ s ( imf ) january 2020 world economic outlook ( w eo ) update projects the global economy to post a modest 2. 9 percent growth in 2019, before picking up by another modest 3. 3 percent in 2020. these numbers both represent a downward revision relative to the october 2019 weo projections. global economic activity in 2019 was heavily weighed down by protracted trade policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and idiosyncratic stress in key emerging market economies. while some green shoots were seen in the fourth quarter, facilitated by the broad - based shift earlier in the year toward accommodative monetary policy and fiscal easing in some countries ( e. g., china and the united states ), business sentiment remained generally pessimistic. over the near and medium term, the imf sees downside risks, including rising geopolitical tensions, intensifying social unrest ; and further worsening relations between the us and its trading partners. the recent growing concern over the wuhan coronavirus outbreak has likewise weighed down on growth prospects not only in china, but in the entire world. on the domestic front, latest surveillance reports from multilateral agencies such as the imf, the world bank ( w b ), and the asian development bank ( adb ) continue to expect the philippine economy to remain one of the fastest - growing economies in 2020 — not only in the region, but in the world as well. they expect the philippines to grow between 6. 1 percent to 6. 2 percent during the year. in fact, some market analysts

principle : i for inclusivity. an inclusive economy is one where everyone experiences the benefits of growth ; it is one where economic development translates to poverty reduction. the challenge for leaders is to ensure that the benefits of economic recovery is equitable, such that opportunities are created and benefit all segments of society. under its digital payments transformation roadmap, the bsp also targets at least 70 percent of filipino adults to be have transaction accounts by 2023. the bsp has issued enabling regulations and rolled out programs to achieve our goals under the roadmap. for instance, the digital banking framework issued in november last year spells out regulatory guidelines on how to operate digital banks in the country. now, we already have 6 licensed digital banks. the bsp has also issued the open finance framework, which provides guidelines on consent2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches driven use of customer data for the creation of financial products and services that cater to a wide range of customer needs. we have rolled out a program promoting expanded use of qr codes for payments. the bsp is also actively involved in the philippine identification system ( philsys ) to allow underserved filipinos to open transaction accounts and enter the formal financial system. moving on to the next principle : r for responsiveness. responsiveness is demonstrated by the speed and scale by which an individual, organization, or economy addresses a difficult situation head on. in relation to this, the bsp was among the first central banks in the world to respond to the crisis. as early as february 2020, the bsp already cut its policy rates by 25 basis points to provide initial support to the economy. still on speed, the financial institutions strategic transfer ( fist ) act was signed into law last february and the bsp issued its implementing regulations in may this year — even as banks ’ bad debts remain manageable to date. the fist law is a pre - emptive measure to ensure banking sector stability in case of significant spike in loan defaults. on scale, the bsp has done quite a lot to respond to the crisis. we have so far injected php2. 3 trillion in liquidity to the financial system, equivalent to 12. 8 percent of gdp ( as of 14 october 2021 ). another key facet of the bsp ’ s responsiveness is our push for sustainable finance. the bsp, in april 2020, issued the sustainable finance framework. the framework was the first phase of regulations on sustainable finance. with enabling regulations