##placency in banks … and bankers. filipinos trust you with their money. you are accountable to them. shape up, … level up, … and never betray their trust. if you are faithful to your clients, they will be faithful to you. then you can grow together as partners. on our part, we at the bangko sentral will continue to work with you in actively pursuing our reform agenda …. and in crafting policies and programs that will empower thrift banks to become more effective partners... for national development and growth. growth that is sustained, and growth that is inclusive. mabuhay ang thrift banks! mabuhay ang ating mahal na bansang pilipinas! maraming salamat sa inyong lahat at taus pusong pagpati sa inyong bagong board of director. bis central bankers ’ speeches

amando m tetangco, jr : the thrift banking industry amid an evolving global landscape speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( the central bank of the philippines ), at the annual convention of the chamber of thrift banks, manila, 21 march 2012. * * * the officers and members of the chamber of thrift banks under the leadership of president patrick cheng, distinguished leaders of the banking community, fellow workers in government, special guests from the media, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. on behalf of the bangko sentral ng pilipinas, i commend the ctb for the choice of its convention theme this year. it is simple and straightforward : “ thrift banks : partner in national development ”. there is a clear understanding of the role you play in our economy. indeed, by accumulating savings of depositors to finance small and medium enterprises … as well as consumer loans, … thrift banks continue to help the economy grow and generate employment. the resources of thrift banks deposits, loans and capital have all grown substantially. a review of industry figures indicate that increases in deposits in thrift banks were matched by similar increases in loans to consumers … as well as to micro, small, and medium enterprises … or what we call msmes. as a result, thrift banks in general are comfortably above the minimum threshold … mandated for msme lending. nevertheless, given that our banks remain quite liquid, thrift banks can help more deserving msmes. the importance of msmes in our country cannot be overemphasized. the msme sector provides employment for most filipinos ; it is, in fact, the backbone of our economy. this is where the members of the chamber of thrift banks can make a lot of difference in terms of moving our economy forward. ladies and gentlemen. our country is poised to achieve solid growth this year … with both our monetary and fiscal engines running. the bsp ’ s recent monetary policy decisions have kept our interest rates at low single - digit levels. this keeps the cost of money down and provides stimulus for our economy. at the same time, government has been raising more revenues and will be spending more this year for infrastructure, education, and other public services. steady investment inflows provide additional impetus for growth. thus, while the global economy continues to grapple with the adverse impact of the debt crisis in europe and slower