felipe m medalla : onward and forward - the bsp in 2023 speech by mr felipe m medalla, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the new year's message / first flag raising ceremony for 2023, manila, 2 january 2023. * * * my beloved colleagues in the monetary board, deputy governors, officers and colleagues, magandang umaga po at isang masaganang bagong taon po sa ating lahat! i hope that the past few days offered some form of rest and respite from the year that just ended, as well as clarity and purpose for the year that has just started. to say that we've been through an eventful and challenging year is surely an understatement but i trust that despite all of these, you - my fellow bspers - were able to easily bounce back, find the time to recharge, recover, and spend time with your loved ones during the holiday season. over the past few months, the economy has also returned to some form of normalcy. businesses are opening up ; the malls are full again ; schools are welcoming students back ; and tourists are coming in. brighter prospects on the horizon? after years of holding off purchases, some consumers are spending more. pent - up demand, or what is now commonly referred to as " revenge spending " is real and so is the ensuing economic boost. with oil prices on the decline and diminishing pressures on the peso - again, thanks to actions taken by the monetary board - filipinos have more to spend on discretionary items. this year and hopefully beyond, we expect the economy to sustain this strong momentum. that said, we recognize that the global environment is not without risk. the global outlook is dimming, and recession fears are mounting, with the international monetary fund and world bank sounding the alarm as shown by their consistent upward revisions of inflation forecasts and consistent downward revisions of global gross domestic product growth rates. the fed's actions, of course, will be a key consideration for us. we're also looking at how china contains the virus without its covid - zero policy, the ukraine - russia conflict, shifting supply chains, the world's journey to decarbonization, and mounting geopolitical tensions in different parts of the world. staying true to bsp's three pillars but while the environment is

benjamin e diokno : philippine banking system - the green shoots of recovery speech by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the mart general membership meeting, 16 november 2020. * * * mart president genevieve faye a. del rosario, members and officers of the mart, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to all. i wish to thank mart, our reliable partner in capital market development, for inviting me to share the bsp ’ s initiatives towards economic and financial recovery in the new economy. as we all know, the of the covid - 19 pandemic, is truly global. it affected all countries — developed, emerging, and third - world. the philippine economy contracted by 10 percent in the first three quarters of the year, following 21 years of uninterrupted growth. but this sharp contraction is not fully reflective of the country ’ s strong fundamentals or prospects moving forward. the bsp expects the recovery process to commence sooner as more industries re - open following the gradual easing of restrictions throughout the country. on growth, we expect real gross domestic product ( gdp ) to swing from a range of negative 7. 0 to negative 9. 0 percent this year, to a range of positive 6. 5 to 7. 5 percent next year and in 2022. we anticipate interest rates to remain low, inflation to be manageable, the peso to be stable, and external accounts to be robust, with record - high gross international reserves. we expect inflation to remain manageable at a range of 1. 75 to 2. 75 percent this year, and within the 2. 0 - 4. 0 percent target range by next year and in 2022. headline inflation averaged 2. 5 percent from january to october 2020, still within the government ’ s target range for the year. the strength of the philippine peso remains market - driven and supported by sound macroeconomic fundamentals. the peso averaged p48. 24 / us $ 1 as of 11 november 2020 and one of the strongest currencies in the region. the peso ’ s strength is attributable of the country ’ s low inflation, a strong and resilient banking system, low debt - to - gdp ratio, and a hefty gross international reserve. overseas filipino remittances are expected to bounce back next year. from a contraction of 2 percent this