it expected to hold the rate near zero at least until mid - 2013. 2 in december 2012, the committee adopted quantitative thresholds that were explicitly tied to future economic conditions. in particular, it stated its intention to hold the policy rate near zero “ at least as long as the unemployment rate remains above 6 - 1 / 2 percent, inflation between one and two years ahead is projected to be no more than a half percentage point above the committee ’ s 2 percent longer - run goal, and longer - term inflation expectations continue to be well anchored. ” 3 more recently, at the march 2014 fomc meeting, as the 6 - 1 / 2 percent unemployment threshold approached, the committee offered new guidance that contained qualitative and see board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2009 ), “ fomc statement ”, press release, march 18, paragraph 3. see board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2011 ), “ fomc statement ”, press release, august 9. see board of governors of the federal reserve system ( 2012 ), “ federal reserve issues fomc statement ”, press release, december 12, paragraph 5. bis central bankers ’ speeches time - based elements but retained the state - contingent nature of the threshold guidance. first, the committee said that, in determining how long to hold the federal funds rate near zero, it “ will assess progress – both realized and expected – toward its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation ” ; it also indicated that, in making this assessment, it would take into account a wide range of information, “ including measures of labor market conditions, indicators of inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and readings on financial developments. ” 4 second, the committee indicated, “ based on its assessment of these factors, that it likely will be appropriate to maintain the current target range for the federal funds rate for a considerable time after the asset purchase program ends ” – a time - based reference, since the committee has indicated that it expects to wind down its asset purchases by the end of this year if the economy continues to evolve as expected. 5 of course, the actual timing of liftoff will depend on the performance of the economy. third, the committee stated that it “ anticipates that, even after employment and inflation are near mandate - consistent levels, economic conditions may, for some time, warrant keeping the target federal funds rate below levels the committee views as normal in the longer run. ” 6 committee members have differing thoughts

benjamin e diokno : the covid - 19 pandemic and the economy speech by mr benjamin e diokno, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the rotary club of manila 25th membership meeting, manila, 5 january 2022. * * * good afternoon, fellow rotarians. today, i ’ ll discuss what bsp did at the onset and during the pandemic, why we did what we did, and the outcomes. i will then turn to the present state of the economy and our prospects in the near and medium term. when the gravity and magnitude of the pandemic first came to the fore, the bangko sentral ng pilipinas acted swiftly and decisively to contain the economic fallout. as early as february 2020 — before the first local virus transmission was even confirmed – the monetary board cut the policy rate by 25 basis points. by the end of 2020, the policy rate was cut by another 175 bps, bringing the cumulative reduction to 200 bps ; from 4 percent to a record low of 2 percent. similarly, the reserve requirement ratio ( rrr ) was reduced to increase the volume of loanable funds in the system. for universal and commercial banks as well as non - bank financial institutions with quasi - banking functions, the rrr was cut from 14 percent to 12 percent, while the rrr for thrift banks was cut from 4 percent to 3 percent and from 3 percent to 2 percent for rural / cooperative banks. these efforts were accompanied by a wide range of regulatory and operational relief measures for financial institutions. knowing that small businesses were hard hit by mobility restrictions and lockdowns, we incentivized bank lending to msmes by treating new loans to msmes as compliance with the reserve requirement. in addition, we temporarily increased the single borrowers ’ limit and raised the ceiling for real estate loans of universal and commercial banks from 20 percent to 25 percent. and to provide relief to beleaguered borrowers, we excluded some loans from being tagged as past due or non - performing and allowed a grace period for loan settlement and restructuring of rediscounted loans. we are slowly seeing signs of economic normalization as a result of our concerted efforts. bank lending appears to have bottomed out, with loans by universal and commercial banks expanding by 4. 0 percent in november from 3. 5 percent in october. the latest uptick marks