benjamin e diokno : welcome remarks - “ combating money laundering during pandemic ” welcome remarks by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the webinar on “ combating money laundering during pandemic ”, 21 july 2020. * * * a pleasant day to everyone! i am happy to welcome all of you to the webinar series 2020 that the bangko sentral ng pilipinas institute is conducting in partnership with the international monetary fund – singapore training institute. this collaboration emphasizes the need for organizations and institutions like the bangko sentral ng pilipinas and the international monetary fund to continuously work together to discuss timely and relevant economic and financial issues with a view to developing a better appreciation of these issues and finding solutions that adhere to international good practices. the first topic of the webinar series, combating money laundering during pandemic, highlights the serious challenges that money laundering is creating among financial institutions and economies of the world during this difficult period. the discussion is timely as we often witness that money launderers and fraudsters thrive during crisis periods as they take advantage of the vulnerability of the world economy. while the global economic activities have slowed down sharply during the current pandemic, money laundering activities are continuously being reported, which give us reason to believe that opportunistic threats abound. in the case of the bangko sentral ng pilipinas, we issued memorandum 2020 – 036, dated april 29, 2020, directing all banks to pay close attention to new forms of money laundering and terrorism financing risks. aside from phishing or spear phishing campaigns and other cases of fraudulent activities highlighted in our advisories, bsp - supervised institutions have been warned to be on their guard against illegal schemes that exploit the changes in work arrangements, lifestyles or behavior of the public due to covid - 19. these new illegal schemes include donations or charity scams, impostor investment, product scams, money mules, online sex trafficking and exploitation, veiled donations for terrorism financing, which are usually coursed through financial transactions through fund or wire transfers and deposits. bsp - supervised financial institutions are also advised to consider these kinds of criminal activities and typologies in their anti - money laundering and counter terrorism financing controls and compliance processes and to report suspicious transactions to the anti - money laundering council. they are also

amando m tetangco, jr : security management – a challenging balancing act speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the bank security management association, inc. ( bsma ) induction, central bank of the philippines, manila, 16 january 2009. * * * the officers and directors of the bank security management association, inc. ( bsma ) led by president edwin ermita, special guests, fellow central bankers, good morning. i am very pleased to meet the leadership of the bank security management association and engage you in a dialogue. you and the members bsma are responsible for providing the highest level of protection to philippine banking institutions in general and to bank employees and clients in particular. for the bangko sentral ng pilipinas therefore, you represent a vital component of our continuing efforts to ensure the health and stability of our banking system. through the years, securing a bank has evolved from the traditional watchdog concept to the use of state - of - the - art security devices and gadgets. given the rising violence we have seen in recent bank robberies, you have to ensure that you develop in parallel with your operating environment. your additional challenge is to provide effective security to bank properties and most especially to the people within your premises while making sure that customers do not feel intimated or threatened by security personnel. you and i know that bank clients are civilians who are not used to armed personnel. therefore, they may complain or, worse, move their account if they feel that your security men are somewhat threatening. i know it is easier said than done but your objective should be for security personnel to remain courteous while being visible, firm, and alert as security personnel. director ed gatumbato, the head of bangko sentral ’ s security department, is constantly challenged by this balancing act. i am sure you will have a lot to talk about. last year, september 3 to be exact, i signed bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp ) circular 620, the revised rules and regulations on bank protection pursuant to monetary board resolution no. 1057 dated august 14, 2008. the objective of this circular is to strengthen and broaden the security of banks to cover not only physical security but also on other crimes perpetrated against the banking institutions such as external and internal frauds, cash in transit operations as well as the conduct