percent in 2016, making us one of the fastest growing economies in asia. this is not the first time that you have partnered with us in our financial inclusion efforts. most lgus here have also joined the bsp - initiated credit surety fund or csf which enables cooperatives without sufficient collateral to access bank loans. we have made great strides in this area. we now have 45 csfs in 30 provinces and 15 cities nationwide. as of 31 december 2016, cumulative approved loans for 16, 310 beneficiaries have reached php 3. 25 billion. progress in the program ’ s implementation could not have been possible without your help. salamat sa inyo! moving forward, the philippines is expected to sustain its growth momentum based on our strong economic fundamentals and domestic drivers of growth. we hope that similar to csfs, the krn will enhance our economic prospects as more financially knowledgeable citizens participate in 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches the benefits development brings. ladies and gentlemen. the english philosopher francis bacon famously said “ knowledge is power. ” and to this, american computer chip inventor robert noyce added that “ knowledge shared is power multiplied. ” the launch of the knowledge resource network here in metro manila is the beginning. we look forward to the future with confidence that our partnerships under the krn will generate multiple benefits for our people. maraming salamat at mabuhay po tayong lahat! 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches

. outstanding loans of banks as of end - august grew by 4. 4 percent year - on - year. this shows that despite the effects of the pandemic, there is still substantial demand for loans and appetite among banks to lend. the non - performing loans ratio remained modest at 2. 8 percent as of end - august. we may see an uptick in the npl ratio in the coming months as a result of the crisis, but we expect the increase to be manageable. worth noting is that banks have been beefing up their provisioning for bad debts, with the npl coverage ratio standing comfortably at 107. 4 percent as of end - august. despite the increase in loan - loss provisioning, banks stayed profitable as of end - june, with annualized net profit growing year - on - year by 1. 8 percent. the bsp ’ s stress tests point to favorable banking system prospects amid risks. results show npls will remain manageable, cars will stay above the 10 - percent requirement, liquidity will be sufficient, and profitability will stay intact. moving on to the final part of my speech, which is where we are steering the philippine economy. 3 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches the entire government and the bsp are exerting enormous effort not only to help the economy and the filipino people survive this crisis but for us to be even better, stronger, more inclusive, technologically prepared, and more competitive than before the coronavirus pandemic. allow me to briefly expound on how the bsp is working toward this goal. the bsp is pushing for laws that will accelerate recovery and improve the structural makeup of the economy. among the laws we are pushing are : ( i ) the financial institutions strategic transfer or fist bill, which will help banks unload bad assets ; ( ii ) the government financial institutions unified initiatives to distressed enterprises for economic recovery or guide bill, which will provide assistance to distressed firms that are critical for economic recovery ; ( iii ) amendments to the agri - agra law to rationalize the way banks can support agriculture development ; ( iv ) amendments to bank secrecy laws to aid anti - money laundering and anti - tax evasion efforts, and promote integrity in governance ; and ( v ) amendments to the credit information system act to ease credit access of msmes. meantime, the bsp continues to refine monetary policy and banking regulations. in relation to price stability, the bsp last month started issuing our own