PH Now a BIS-Reporting Country

The Philippines will join an elite group of less than 50 jurisdictions worldwide which report cross-border banking statistics to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) as part of the global database.

After months of testing and validation, cross-border banking data maintained by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has been judged as meeting the rigorous BIS standards for completeness and quality.

BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens informed BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. that “the BIS will formally add the Philippines as a reporting country for the locational IBS [international banking statistics] and start including Philippine data in the global aggregates” starting January 2018.

Carstens added that the participation of the Philippines in the IBS is a significant milestone [because] it confirms the international importance of the Philippine banking system.

For his part, Governor Espenilla noted that “our inclusion into the elite group provides us with more granular cross-border banking data that would be very critical in formulating well-informed policies when and how they may be needed. The value to regulators of having such a view cannot be overemphasized in today’s market.”

The Governor pointed out further that the benefits accrue the other way as well because our ability to provide high-quality data can only enhance the transparency of global transactions and funding flows. He added that the BSP is only too happy to contribute significantly to such an endeavor.

Highlighting BSP’s longstanding direction, Governor Espenilla recognized that “the BSP has been working diligently on instilling high-quality banking data and our inclusion as a BIS-reporting jurisdiction validates our efforts in meeting the international standards.”