nestor a espenilla, jr : continuity plus - plus, staying ahead of the curves speech by mr nestor a espenilla, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the annual reception for the banking community, manila, 19 january 2018. * * * good evening. it is my honor and pleasure to welcome you to the bsp ’ s annual reception for the banking community. this is the first reception i am hosting as governor of the bangko sentral ng pilipinas. on behalf of my co - hosts, monetary board members, finance secretary sonny dominguez, phillip medalla, jun de zuniga, val araneta, peter favila and tony abacan, i thank you sincerely for accepting our invitation, and your presence tonight at our historic fort san antonio abad. in the last six ( 6 ) months, i have spoken at various venues. perhaps most of you have already heard or read about a phrase i coined when i became bsp governor in july 2017. i am referring to “ continuity plus plus, ” a catchphrase for our strategic direction. “ continuity plus plus ” first appreciates that there is an already strong foundation to support a fast - growing economy and the opportunities it presents. buffers are in place to better prepare us for external risks. in this regard, stability demands continued dedication to the maintenance and strengthening of this foundation and buffers. “ continuity plus plus ” then also recognizes the need f or additional strategic financial sector reforms to strengthen these economic buffers and pursue broad - based growth. review of 2017. 2017 was another year in the country ’ s positive economic narrative. the country ’ s strong fundamentals, founded on the pursuit of broad - based reforms, provided ample support for sustained expansion. in the third quarter of 2017, the economy grew by 6. 9 percent, representing 75 quarters - - the platinum equivalent - - of uninterrupted growth! inflation averaged 3. 2 percent, well - within the target range of 2 - 4 percent. our external position is strong. the peso ’ s movements remained broadly in line with those in the region. international reserves stood at us $ 81. 5 billion, covering more than 8 months ’ worth of imports of goods and payment of services. the philippine banking system is safe and sound, with robust expansion in credit and demonstrating capital adequacy, asset quality, liquid

mandates in the bsp remain the same, our operating environment is constantly changing. there is a need to adapt and to stay ahead of developments … the bsp will continue to provide an enabling environment for sustainable and broad - based economic growth, deploy timely measures to ward off any potential threat to financial stability, strengthen domestic sources of resilience, and leverage on technology and digitization to pursue more inclusive growth. let us now offer a toast ( may i request the members of the monetary board to please join me on stage ) … dear friends from the banking and financial industries, industry associations, colleagues from government, the private sector, media and the academe, let us raise a glass to our continued partnership … may we multiply our efforts through greater collaboration and cooperation so we could stay ahead of all curves and bring about exponential returns for our beloved philippines and our fellow filipinos. cheers! 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches