The Philippines’ Financial Sector Forum (FSF) has dedicated further efforts to holistically develop a “resilient, sustainable and inclusive” financial system.

In the first FSF meeting attended by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor and Chairman, Eli M. Remolona, Jr., since he assumed office in July 2023, the association said it is working across the areas of financial conglomerate supervision, sustainable finance, information exchange, financial technology, and consumer protection and education to ensure better financial outcomes for the nation.

The FSF has several projects undergoing inter-agency cross-sectoral review to develop the Philippines’ financial ecosystem, including risk surveillance and monitoring, sustainable finance taxonomy and climate change and educational programs.

“The local taxonomy will serve as a tool to assess whether an economic activity is environmentally or socially sustainable. The document has given particular focus to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in line with the thrust to promote inclusive green finance,” the association said.

“In June 2023, the Personal Finance 101 for College Students was formally launched through the signing of a memorandum of agreement among the FSF-member agencies, Commission on Higher Education, National Economic and Development Authority, and BPI Foundation.

“This financial education program for college students will cover important concepts such as financial planning, savings and budgeting, debt management, investing, fraud and scam prevention, digital financial literacy, and financial consumer protection.

“The FSF is also ramping up efforts to engage industry associations to promote customer-centricity in the delivery of financial services as part of its consumer protection and education initiatives.

“Meanwhile, inter-agency discussions continued in relation to upskilling supervisory personnel in response to the rapid technological advancements and expanding information sharing arrangement across the financial sector.”

The FSF is a voluntary inter-agency body comprised of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Insurance Commission (IC) and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC). It follows a framework for consultation and information exchange between the agencies to work towards improving the nation’s financial system, while also continuing each agency’s existing mandate.