chuchi g fonacier : opening remarks - pesonet media forum opening remarks by ms chuchi g fonacier, deputy governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the pesonet media forum, manila, 7 august 2018. * * * ppmi chairman justo ortiz, our partners from e - peso headed by chief of party mamerto tangonan, deputy governor chuchi fonacier and fellow bsp colleagues, representatives from the participating financial institutions, with their pilot corporate users, friends from the media, guests, ladies and gentlemen. good afternoon and welcome to the pesonet media forum. three years ago, we had a vision : for every filipino to have easy access to accounts to safely make payments and receive or transfer funds to other accounts anytime, anywhere, at a reasonable price, from any digital device. thus, the national retail payment system or nrps was envisioned to create an interoperable payment ecosystem that is safe, efficient, and affordable. through collaborative efforts of the bangko sentral and the industry, we have achieved significant progress. in november 2017, we have transitioned batch interbank fund transfer service of the philippine clearinghouse corporation ( pchc ) into pesonet, allowing funds to be received by the beneficiaries, in full amount, within the day. tagged as a viable electronic payment alternative to paper - based checks, pesonet is one of the achs prioritized for implementation by the bangko sentral. pesonet holds a lot of promise, given its potential to be an efficient channel for collections and disbursements by government and corporate users. with pesonet, we can achieve lower cost, better liquidity management and increased economic activity through immediate availability of funds. for corporates, in particular, some use cases are supplier payments, payroll and loan and dividend payouts. since the launch of pesonet, the bsp has turned over the reins to the industry through the philippine payments management inc. or ppmi, which includes the pesonet steering committee. in support, the bangko sentral now provides active oversight and guidance through a regulatory environment that promotes the growth of electronic payments and, ultimately, the development of a safe and efficient national payment system. in today ’ s forum, we shall have the opportunity to listen to progress updates from the industry and learn from the stories of pilot pesonet

. the bank of albania judges that the central projection on total revenues is acceptable, although remaining on the upside of our expectations. in the expenses side, the 2023 draft budget forecasts public expenses at the level of all 687 billion, or 31. 6 % of gdp. this prediction factors in the increase of wages and pensions, the rising costs of debt servicing, maintaining a high rate of capital expenses, and the significant reduction of subsidies to the energy sector, underpinned seemingly by the expected improvement of domestic production and the reduction of prices in international markets. in principle, the bank of albania supports a consolidation process led by the growth in budget revenues. this action, which is based on the continuous elimination of informality and tax evasion, boosts competition and efficiency in the economy. it also preserves the space necessary for public spending, particularly for emerging countries, 3 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches which are in the process of converging to the eu standards as well, such as albania. simultaneously, we support a controlled growth of current expenses in the short term, to address - in a targeted manner - the shock of inflation to the people most in needs. however, the bank of albania estimates that the balance of risk in the budget is on the side of deficit expansion. these risks stem from the downside risks on economic growth and the realisation of forecasted revenues, as well as the uncertainties of predictions related to the degree of improvement of taxation efficiency and the balances of the energy sector. to address these risks, the bank of albania suggests : to provide a higher level of contingency funds in the budget, in order to increase operational efficiency and implement the spending plan, as a priority ; to continuously monitor the performance of the financial balance of the albanian energy sector, and to intervene in a timely manner in order to avoid potential costs springing from rising prices in foreign markets or production issues in the domestic market ; to regularly monitor the performance of revenues and the public investments plan, in order to take the measures that keep the budget deficit within the planned parameters. 2. strengthening the effectiveness and sustainability of public finances the efficiency and flexibility of the fiscal policy are the two most desirable features of public finances. the efficiency of fiscal policy means to establish a direct balance between its redistribution function - the fiscal instruments which mitigate social inequality and protect the vulnerable members of society - and its function as an instigator of economic development. the flexibility of public finances implies their