BSP cited by Central Banking Awards for modernizing reserve management

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has been cited at the Central Banking Awards for modernizing its reserve management approach in the past year, joining recognizees with “extraordinary examples” and “pioneering activities” in the global central banking community.

The Central Banking Publications recognized the BSP’s changes such as the upgrade of its strategic asset allocation framework, the deployment of active risk-management techniques, the diversification of reserves, and internalization of investments in new asset classes.

It also cited the BSP’s update of external fund manager rules, the changes in its gold management, and the improvement of responsible investing guidelines.

“We continue to be prudent, risk-based and forward-looking in our reserve management,” BSP governor Eli Remolona Jr. was quoted as saying.

“This is a vital step towards safeguarding price and financial stability,” he added.

The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) — a measure of the ability to settle import payments and service foreign debt — hit a fresh record high of $112.72 billion in February, up from $112.61 billion the previous month, marking the seventh straight month of growth.

In its writeup, the Central Banking Publications noted the BSP’s switch to metric that optimize investments based on the scale of historical intervention activities, and the optimization for its a more risk-focused investment tranche from an asset-liability managment approach previously.

Also awarded were Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as Governor of the Year, the and Central Bank of the UAE as risk manager.

HSBC was likewise recognized for its asset service initiative, CAIM for its asset management, and Amundi and Flar for their partner initiative. —VAL, GMA Integrated News