at the national, regional and global scale. a case in point is basel 3, the new global standard for managing banking - related risks. in this connection, the bangko sentral has made clear repeatedly that we subscribe to the underlying principles espoused by the basel 3 accord. however, we have taken steps to calibrate its implementation here to align with local conditions. at the bangko sentral, we do not instigate change for the sake of change. rather, our policy initiation is calibrated to make the industry stronger against potential waves of shocks. the same principle applies to other reform strands. the new framework for otc derivatives, financial market infrastructure, changes in corporate governance standards, consumer protection, accounting and even the recent issue on the integrity of financial benchmarks are all in the context of addressing identified weaknesses under a financial stability mandate. bis central bankers ’ speeches they represent global reforms that are meant to revise the international financial architecture and the market ’ s intrinsic landscape. at the regional level, the reforms emanate from the policy decision to pursue integration. for the banking community, this will be the asean banking integration framework or abif. the framework takes us to 2020 at which time we expect that the asean banking community would be semi - integrated. while this is six years away, the work under abif is well underway. banks can choose to retain a domestic focus or choose to become a regional player. however you position your bank, be aware that either of the two choices has critical competition policy consequences. if one is to survive and thrive, international competitiveness is the way to go. this is because so - called qualified asean banks ( qabs ) will operate within asean. in the end, the size and strength of each bank ’ s balance sheet as well as the quality of its management will become crucial factors under regional integration. ladies and gentlemen, we have covered quite a bit of ground in describing the philippine banking industry in terms of both its current standing and its prospects. i can say that while we are in a clear position of strength today, calibrated reforms will continue to be a necessity. at the end of the day, the real measure of strength and success is the ability to withstand difficulties that will arise in the future. we know that change will always be at a cost ; consider this as investment for the future. for today, your prospective strength will be difficult to quantify. nevertheless, you can count on the bang

amando m tetangco, jr : philippine banking – responsive and responsible speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the third annual asian banker philippine international banking convention 2013, manila, 25 october 2013. * * * good morning everyone. i am pleased to join you at this 3rd asian banker philippine international banking convention. this provides us the platform to share the continuing transformation of our banking industry in the midst of global challenges, the start of our compliance with basel 3 in 2014, and issues related to expansion and competition. ladies and gentlemen. in our view, there are four rs that define our banking community today : robust, resilient, responsive and responsible. for instance, the three major international credit rating agencies that gave the philippines investment grade status this year, acknowledged our sound and stable banking industry as a contributing factor. they view the philippine banking system as well capitalized, profitable, and liquid, with deposit - funded balance sheets and sound loss - absorption capacities. in fact, the philippines is the only country whose banking sector is on positive outlook at moody ’ s ; it raised the outlook to positive in december 2012. in january 2013, moody ’ s said it sees “ positive credit trends in the philippine banking system, one that has been and will stay relatively immune to global economic shocks, and is benefiting from steady credit growth and growing diversification opportunities. ” on the other hand, standard & poor is in its february 2013 report said it believes that “ the philippine banking system is reasonably resilient to an external slowdown. ” as the regulator of the banking system, we at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas value such positive third party assessments which are of course, corroborated by relevant indicators. but more than being robust and resilient, our banking sector has become more responsive to the varied needs of differentiated stakeholders. most of all, responsible behavior by our banking sector in handling the savings of our people continues to underpin the continued growth of our banks to record levels. a responsive banking industry indicators clearly show a growing industry. but that cannot be the only measure of success. for the bangko sentral, it is the banks that must respond to the needs of their constituents, not the other way around. but let me make one thing clear : this is not meant to be a relaxation of standards ; rather, it is