towards the use of local currencies to support cross - border settlements for trade and direct investments among the three countries. it is an opportunity to mitigate the impact of volatilities in major trading currencies on regional trade and investment activities. we can recall the global financial crisis, where the tightening of global us dollar liquidity was a contributor to the 19 % contraction of total trade and 11. 5 % contraction of total inward fdi into the region. moreover, an enabling environment for the effective use of local currencies will bring about greater cost efficiency and stability for businesses and increase demand for local currency financial products. that will, in turn, be the impetus to strengthen regional financial markets ’ development. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches i am pleased that the event today is made possible by all three central banks, mutually agreeing to grant regulatory flexibilities to the appointed banks under these frameworks, enabling them to provide a wider range of financial services under their respective jurisdictions. taking this opportunity, i wish to introduce the appointed banks in malaysia for these frameworks, namely, maybank berhad, cimb berhad, rhb berhad, public bank berhad, hong leong bank berhad, bangkok bank berhad, united overseas bank ( uob ) berhad and bank of tokyo - mitsubishi ( btmu ) berhad. the implementation of these frameworks will complement our existing close partnership and cooperation as neighbors, with common objectives and shared aspirations. on this note, i look forward to witness the growth in the use indonesian rupiah, thai baht and malaysian ringgit for cross - border settlement of trade between indonesia and malaysia, and thailand and malaysia, respectively. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

billion per year and grows at double - digit growth rates. our desire to develop a more inclusive financial system that caters to all sectors of society has also led us to yet another major advocacy – that of promoting financial learning down to the grass roots level. if you recall, our tulong barya para sa eskuwela program was successful because we had the banking sector with us as partners led by the chamber of thrift banks, rural bankers association of the philippines, the bankers association of the philippines, as well as the philippine retailers association particularly sm and robinsons, absp - cbn and gma7 among others. many of you are here and we take this opportunity to thank you again. i also wish to invite you to support this program which is being launched in partnership with the department of education. we also thank our partner - banks who share our goal of teaching our 12 million public elementary students regular lessons on saving and money management. our screen is now flashing the banks who are now on board with us for the integration of financial lessons in the elementary curriculum. we are keeping the doors open for other banks and institutions to support this breakthrough project. for your information, the bangko sentral has a comprehensive financial education program that covers schoolchildren to college students to adults, including overseas workers and their dependents. we are also setting up economic & financial literacy centers in bangko sentral ’ s regional offices and branches across the country because we believe that education is a powerful empowering means for developing responsible and productive citizens. in this connection, we are also pleased to announce that the bangko sentral is expanding its scholarship program to include deserving students in urban centers and in the provinces for courses associated with economics and banking. ladies and gentlemen. the last 15 years has provided us the opportunity for introspection and to re - invent ourselves as well as our institution for the challenges that lie ahead. you who are here tonight have been with us in our journey. we thank you for this. it is in this spirit that the monetary board approved the scrapping of certain fees of the bangko sentral ’ s real time gross settlement system – the philpass. you may get more details about this from deputy governor andy suratos who is here with us. i also take this opportunity to remind you that we at the bangko sentral stand ready to continue our dialogue with you so that we can identify more areas of concern, formulate solutions, and thereby move forward together