to affirm that our banking system, in all its vital components – rural and cooperative banks, thrift banks, and commercial and universal banks, is in much better shape today than it was during the last crisis we faced. and i can tell you, the monetary board and the rest of the bangko sentral ng pilipinas family remain confident that our banking system can work through these challenges. i assure you, this is not meant to be a self - acclamation. rather, it is our tribute to the collective efforts we have invested in our shared future. as a community of stakeholders, it is this common future that requires of us.. shared responsibilities to take on challenges together in order to grow and gain as one. i refer specifically to the bankers association of the philippines, the chamber of thrift banks and the rural bankers association of the philippines. the bangko sentral ng pilipinas thanks you and salutes your efforts in sustaining economic activities not only in urban centers but also in the countryside through responsible and responsive banking. ladies and gentlemen, let us give a round of applause to the philippine banking sector. there is a saying that it is okay to build sand castles in the sky for as long as our feet are well planted on the ground. what is the context, what do i mean by this? there are three points i wish to make. first, the best strategy is always to move forward as one. this is not an inspirational punch line but the hard reality of market dynamics. we appreciate that banks are inherently business concerns, but protecting the institutional bottom line requires nurturing sustainable relationships in a thriving environment. what is not too obvious is that the financial system as a whole moves forward only when we work together. ultimately, it is this stability from working together that gets us through the business cycles, even as this starts from a position of competing interests. as competitive elements within one system, we can always agree to disagree but we cannot fall into the trap of disagreeing to agree. second, it is critical that any lingering risk aversion from whatever source does not spill over into our ability to provide needed financial services for our real economy. global conditions will be challenging. but in the same breath, let us not allow fears of off - shore conditions to pre - judge our on - shore actions, when and where such links are not warranted. if we are to consolidate our position of relative strength, we need to seize opportunities when they present themselves, while

meantime, we are happy to note that following the implementation of regulatory relief measures, 4 / 13 bis central bankers'speeches banks are up to their task. in particular, we have seen a significant increase in loans, more so to micro, small, and medium enterprises. the average daily loans to msmes jumped 750 percent. from p9. 9 billion in april 2020 to 84. 2 billion in july 2020. this is a big relief for small businesses. on the third item – ensuring continued delivery of financial services to the public – such is crucial in making sure people are able to continue buying things, more so the basic necessities, and businesses continue to replenish their inventories. toward this end, we have done the following : ( i ) urged banks to suspend fees on the use of electronic banking ; ( ii ) raised the single borrower ’ s limit ; ( iii ) allowed temporary relaxation of know - your - customer ( kyc ) requirements to facilitate delivery of welfare funds ; ( iv ) directed banks to ensure availability of atm and online platforms and to be vigilant against cyber threats ; and ( v ) continue to service cash withdrawals of banks nationwide, as well as ensure unhampered operations of philpass, peso - us dollar trading, and monetary operations. the fourth item – shoring up confidence and cushioning economic activity – is indispensable. every recovery story starts with the people, including market players like you, believing in the ability of governments and central banks to engineer economic recovery. all the bsp measures i have mentioned have helped build market confidence. on top of these, we temporarily suspended auctions for our term deposit facilities for certain tenors and reduced the volume offering for our overnight rrp facility. more importantly, our move to implement a series of policy rate cuts, totaling 175 bps, and to reduce the reserve requirement, by 200 bps for big banks and 100 bps for small banks, so far this year have sent a strong signal that the bsp, is leading the philippines toward a strong recovery over the near term. 5 / 13 bis central bankers'speeches in the latest policy meeting held last thursday, the bsp ’ s monetary board decided to keep policy rate steady following the rate cuts earlier this year. the decision was based on our view that monetary policy settings remain appropriate for the time being, with global economic growth remaining subdued on one hand, and early signs of recovery in domestic economic activities on the