nestor a espenilla, jr : remarks at the gala dinner of emeap governors'meeting remarks by mr nestor a espenilla, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the gala dinner on the occasion of emeap governors ’ meeting and informal meeting of emeap governors and heads of supervisory authorities, manila, 4 august 2018. * * * good evening. after a productive day of deep and meaningful discussions on various financial and economic issues, it is wonderful to be able to sit back, enjoy dinner and world - class entertainment — showcasing traditional and modern philippine music, dances and other performances — here in the beautiful and historic ayuntamiento de manila. from the time it was built during the spanish colonial period in 1607, the ayuntamiento, has seen many transformations. it possesses a rich and interesting history. on this very site was the session hall of the first philippine congress. the building also served as manila ’ s first city hall. it has been, as it still is now, the venue of several historic events and has served as offices of various government agencies. today, it houses the offices of the bureau of the treasury. this ayuntamiento, the walled inner city of intramuros and surrounding districts are testaments of the trade linkages between our neighbors in asia and the other side of the pacific. this linkage was primarily represented by the round trip voyages that the galleon ships made between acapulco, mexico and manila ’ s ports, just about a kilometer away from where we stand right now. this so - called galleon trade ( from 1565 and on for the next 250 years consisted of exports coming from other asian countries like china and indonesia ) showed not only exchange of goods between countries. it also created a means for cultural exchanges, cross - country cooperation, and dialogue, similar to what we do today among ourselves and with the rest of the world. like most buildings here in the walled city of intramuros, the original ayuntamiento was destroyed in 1945 during the second world war. it has gone through a number of reconstructions after damages brought by fires and earthquakes. its rehabilitation began in 2009 and was completed in 2013. a long and tedious process. like ayuntamiento, our financial markets have seen numerous transformations through time. we have seen economies go through booms and busts. we have experienced financial

working life, up to at least age 55 to supplement their retirement income. this is a great opportunity and challenge for the trust industry to design product choices that conform faithfully to the laudable objective of this new law. further, the improving economic prospects also set the stage for progressive liberalization of our foreign exchange regime to allow for greater flexibility in overseas investing. this should provide professional fund managers the necessary room to maneuver the diversification of their portfolios and to access a richer variety of qualified assets …. for the benefit of their customers. ladies and gentlemen. the reform agenda must be pursued vigorously …. if we are to secure the opportunities. at the financial market level, the bsp is closely collaborating with key market players through their respective industry associations, as well as with our fellow regulators particularly the sec ….. to achieve more transparent and investor - friendly markets. it is in this context, that we welcome the recent launch of the new government securities benchmark system that can promote fair price discovery, more effectively. we expect the trust industry to work within this new system so we can achieve full transparency and comparability of performance. the new benchmark should also assist in properly valuing debt securities and other financial products like derivatives, repos, as well as securities borrowing and lending arrangements … and thus promote their acceptability to the market. as the galaxy of available domestic capital market assets expands and the market deepens …. it is the trust industry that will be a clear winner. we are also working hard to constantly improve the payments and securities settlement systems. it is basic that we aspire to fully achieve efficient dvp settlement in all securities transactions …. in line with global standards in the area. this is critical to both investor protection and market stability. we also need to work closely to reform the trust industry itself. in that spirit, we are devoting dedicated resources at the bangko sentral … through our newly formed trust supervision group … to work closely with toap. their priorities include ( 1 ) basic trust department operating standards ; ( 2 ) risk management guidelines ; ( 3 ) trust department rating system ; ( 4 ) specialized examination procedures ; and ( 5 ) improvements to uitf regulations. at a more fundamental level, we are also reviewing the basic governance arrangements of the trust department …. as an entity within the bigger banking organization …. to minimize potential conflicts of interest, while preserving natural business synergies. this includes a closer look at the composition of the trust