in the world by the economist intelligence unit of the economist magazine 2010 and 2011. pakistan has become one of the fastest growing markets for branchless banking in the world. these developments include increased competition, technological innovation, new business models, transformation in customers ’ needs and behaviors, and regulatory proportionality. international development agencies and media have now been highlighting pakistan for its market and institutional environment for branchless banking. moreover, according to a recent cgap publication, “ pakistan serves as an example of how public and private institutions together can move a country towards a digital financially inclusive system. ” in fact the branchless banking is going to dominate the retail banking landscape in the long - term. branchless banking has also proved to be an effective instrument in channelizing the government to persons ( g2p ) payments in trying times like serving internally displaced persons ( idps ), flood affectees during the last two years, and beneficiaries of the benazir income support programme. in the coming days, this channel is expected to continue playing an important role towards the promotion of financial inclusion and the management of government to person ( g2p ) programs like salaries disbursements, pensions, bisp, watan cards, pakistan cards and tax collections services, etc. the existing branchless banking deployments can cater to the needs of over 10 million potential beneficiaries of g2p payments in pakistan. sbp has partnered with dfid to launch a financial inclusion program. a number of initiatives have been taken to promote access to finance in the msmes, agriculture and housing which creates enabling environment by addressing regulatory barrier market failures and industry bottlenecks and ensuring consumer protection. lack of financial literacy is a major constraint in advancing financial inclusion sbp launched the first ever nationwide financial literacy program last year, the pilot phase of the program has been concluded successfully by targeting about 50000 beneficiaries in various provinces regions and districts with emphasis on low income strata. bis central bankers ’ speeches sbp has deepened global partnership with world bank, asian development bank and other international and bilateral development agencies to make financial services accessible to the unbanked population. we will see the impacts of these initiatives in near future, which should create more opportunities for the marginalized segment of the society, so they can play their part in the development of this country. at this point in time, you ’ re curious minds will have a lot of questions, some of them will be answered by your mentors

eli m remolona : message for the annual reception for the banking community keynote message by mr eli m remolona, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the 2024 annual reception for the banking community, manila, 10 january 2025. * * * good evening, everyone. former central bank governors, members of the monetary board, partners from the banking and diplomatic community, government officials, friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen, happy new year! first of all, congratulations to all of you and thank you for a milestone - filled 2024. it has been a remarkable year and i am truly grateful for the hard work that each one of us has put in. indeed, we have much to celebrate. we received from s & p ( global ) an upgrade in our credit rating outlook. with your help, we launched the peso irs ( interest rate swap ) market, and we took significant steps to expand the government repo ( repurchase ) market. we also rolled out the financial services cyber resilience plan and helped pass the anti financial account scamming act. in the midst of all these, we also began circulating the new smarter, cleaner, and stronger polymer banknotes. the year 2024 also happens to be the 75th anniversary of central banking in the philippines. please join me in applauding the services of bsp employees, the current ones, as well as those who served before them, some of them are here with us today. we also have some new faces among us, including two members of the monetary board, walter wassmer and jose querubin. their perspectives have already proven to be very helpful. as we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, i am thrilled to continue working with you to build on our shared successes. let us continue working together on digitalization and financial inclusion. let us also intensify our efforts on open finance to ensure that people can choose financial services that best suit their needs. having worked with many of you over the years, i know that we share the same goal, and we share the same drive to make the banking industry a stronger engine for jobs and growth for the filipino people. let me now call on my fellow members of the monetary board to join me on stage for the ceremonial toast. 1 / 1 bis - central bankers'speeches