The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it conducted an assessment of the vulnerability of its 24 offices to natural hazards to assess the potential impact of climate and environmental hazards on its headquarters and branches.
“The assessment forms part of the BSP’s Sustainable Central Banking (SCB) program to mainstream sustainability principles and green practices in the BSP operations and champion the sustainability agenda in the Philippine financial system,” it said.
It said it conducted a broad survey of the exposure of 24 BSP sites to natural hazards and extreme weather events using data generated from the HazardHunter.ph, University of the Philippines Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (UP NOAH) and related historical information and reports.
The BSP also held an in-depth assessment of the potential impact of the most common hazards to the BSP in terms of potential financial losses due to damages to the bank premises and facilities as well as possible disruption in the delivery of business objectives.
It said that following the assessment, a report was issued recommending improvement in the resiliency of BSP facilities; enhancement of the emergency response systems and business continuity strategies; establishment of additional controls and practices to ensure availability of adequate buffers for financial losses; and opportunities to improve further some aspects of the study for future vulnerability assessments.
The BSP said the exercise benefited from the knowledge sharing with World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature Philippines and expert review of the Department of Science and Technology Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) on the methodologies adopted and areas covered in the assessment.