amando m tetangco, jr : a comprehensive financial education program for filipinos speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the launching of the economic and financial learning center, manila, 3 october 2008. * * * members of the monetary board, our partners in the financial and business communities, special guests, fellow central bankers, good afternoon. we thank you for being here with us at the launching of the bangko sentral ’ s economic and financial learning center which includes the bsp library as well as the statistical and learning center. this center, which we call eflc, symbolizes bangko sentral ’ s commitment to institutionalize and sustain a comprehensive financial education program for filipinos – our primary stakeholders. we believe that persons literate in basic economic and financial concepts … stand to benefit more from opportunities that development brings. they also become better partners in ensuring that we have a sound banking system and a more efficient transmission mechanism for our monetary policy actions. in the process, they help sustain balanced economic growth. this is the philosophy that underpins our economic and financial education program. it is in this context that today, we are implementing a comprehensive economic and financial education program that covers children, teenagers, and adults. i will discuss its components briefly. for filipino children, we have bangko sentral ’ s joint program with the department of education and the banking community, where lessons on saving and money management are now being taught as part of the curriculum for 12 million public elementary pupils. for overseas filipinos and their dependents here and abroad we conduct lectures and dialogues, to help them make sound financial decisions and investments to grow their money. for our entrepreneurial poor, we continue to preach the gospel of microfinance that has helped improve the quality of life of millions of filipinos. for small and medium - scale entrepreneurs, we guide them on how and where to access credit. for banks, we teach them how to align with and benefit from our technological innovations such as the award - winning electronic rediscounting. for those engaged in the remittance business, we let them know how they can benefit from using our real - time gross settlement system or philpass. for bank customers, we empower them by educating them on their rights and responsibilities in dealing with banks. for maintaining the quality of our policies, we have professorial chairs in top

parallel, the key economic and financial indicators : public debt, external debt, 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches and the non - performing loans ratio, have improved considerably. in particular, inflation is three times lower than in 2022, down to 2. 2 %, while indicators of the banking sector soundness stand at positive levels. all of these factors, have enabled – among other things – the improvement of albania's credit risk rating by international institutions. the enhanced interest of foreign investors for albania has been another positive development as well. our country has welcomed an ever increasing number of visitors in recent years, ranking third in the world for the fastest growth in tourism in 2023. likewise, foreign direct investments have picked up progressively from year to year, confirming albania's attractiveness as a compelling destination for investments. the bank of albania has actively contributed to this progress by addressing elevated inflation in a timely manner and carefully supervising the banking sector. in addition, investments for developing the payment system, innovation, and the digitalization of financial services have played a key role in strengthening economic stability and the development of the financial sector. we believe that albania's outlook remain positive. however, global trends trigger a complex environment, which poses challenges and opportunities for the future. next, i will briefly address some of them : first, one of the biggest challenges for the albanian economy is improving productivity and achieving a competition level comparable to that of european advanced countries. despite the improvements achieved so far, albania still has to work for reaching an economic structure oriented toward high - value - added sectors. second, the ageing population and the elevating shortages of the labour force is a complex challenge with consequences on the albanian economy as well as on the european and global economies. this process affects both the labour market and the long - term prospects for economic growth and the sustainability of the pension system and public debt. third, another challenge is the impact of climate change on vital sectors such as agriculture and tourism, which are sensitive to it. these two sectors, in addition to directly affecting the economic activity and employment, represent also a great potential for the development of the albanian economy in the future. an integrated approach coupled with a strategic vision is needed to addressing these challenges. in this context, i believe it is important to undertake certain steps : first, investments in the modernization of physical and digital infrastructure, the development of scientific research, the updating of managerial philosophy and practices, and the improvement of business climate in