Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. on Monday took his oath of office as the fourth governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, succeeding Amando Tetangco Jr. who ended his second six-year term on July 2.
Tetangco, a multi-awarded central banker, was first appointed in 2005 by former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and reappointed by ex-president Benigno Simeon Aquino III in 2011, making him the longest-serving BSP governor.
Espenilla became the fourth Bangko Sentral governor since it was established in 1993 under the New Central Bank Act, which replaced the old central bank. His predecessors were Gabriel Singson, Rafael Buenaventura and Tetangco.
Espenilla will serve a fixed term of six years and head the policy-making Monetary Board. Espenilla was sworn in by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III at the Department of Finance office in Manila at 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Dominguez also sworn in the three newly-appointed Monetary Board members, including Peter Favila, Antonio Abacan Jr. and Felipe Medalla. Medalla was retained last week by President Rodrigo Duterte at the board while Favila and Abacan replaced Armando Suratos and Alfredo Antonio.
Espenilla said in a speech he would dedicate his six-year term to building a legacy of excellence to ensure that the economy would remain stable.
“The BSP will continue to fine-tune its monetary policy… We will continue to push for the amendment of the BSP Charter, the passage of the Islamic Banking Act, and strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering Act to ensure the integrity of the country’s financial system,” Espenilla said.
Espenilla vowed to pursue and advance the financial inclusion efforts of the government to ensure that “no one is left behind.”
“Our sound macro-economic fundamentals will continue to support growth prospects, but the unfolding of global events requires us to be prepared and mindful of these,” Espenilla said.
Espenilla said Bangko Sentral would continue to be vigilant against the threats of cybercrime.
Espenilla graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines School of Economics and holds a master’s degree in policy science from the Graduate Institute of Policy in Tokyo. He has been working in the BSP since 1981.
Espenilla headed BSP’s supervision and examination sector and was in charge of the regulatory functions over banks and other financial entities in the Philippines.