Continuity ++
His job was going to be “the most important appointment” that President Rodrigo Duterte was going to make.That was what Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez told the President, who was then less than a year in office, about his upcoming choice for the next governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).The Secretary made sure to let the President know that if it were up to him, he would prefer someone in the mold of Amando Tetangco, Jr., the highly-regarded and multi-awarded BSP Governor who for 12 years, was a stabilizing anchor to the Philippine economic ship.
It was thus the most awaited announcement in the local financial community at the start of 2017, a time of high anxiety due to political and economic uncertainties here and abroad.The President bided his time in naming Mr. Tetangco’s successor, and in the interim contributed to the air of uncertainty with his unorthodox style and outspokenness, including threats against the Anti-Money Laundering` Council (AMLC), chaired by the BSP Governor, which raised more fears that he would name a political ally to ensure the AMLC’s cooperation in his drug war.
Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr.’s name was finally announced around dinner time on May 8, instantly putting economic watchers and the financial community in a celebratory mood.Commentators toasted the President for choosing wisely, someone not known to him personally; they saluted Secretary Dominguez for helping the President choose wisely with, we heard, a very, very short list of candidates; and praises went to the BSP for having nurtured and trained a bright and talented young economist into a mature central banker who easily stepped into the leadership role when the time came.
Mr. Espenilla took office on July 3, 2017, perhaps the most well-rounded in central banking of all those who came before him.His career in the BSP (previously, the Central Bank) spanned over 30 years, starting in economic research, then international operations, then supervision and examination of financial institutions, where he rose to Deputy Governor in 2005.Like his predecessor, his was a crisis-tested professional life, going way back to the 1980s debt crisis, followed by the Asian Financial Crisis in the 1990s, and the Global Financial Crisis a decade later.Graduating magna cum laude, Mr. Espenilla holds a BS in business economics degree from the University of the Philippines where he also earned a masters in business administration (MBA).He also has a MS in policy science from the Graduate Institute of Policy Science in Tokyo, Japan.
Those who know Governor Espenilla are one in saying that his rich experience, high intelligence, and humble and easy disposition equip him well to continue the legacy of Governor Tetangco in shaping the BSP to be “alert, nimble, responsive and able to provide the stability necessary to give direction that the market needs at any time,”1 while breaking new ground in the Philippine’s quest for greater financial inclusion and capital market development, and in facing new challenges coming from increased global economic and financial integration and disruptive technology.
1 Quoted from “The Governor Say(s),” GlobalSource Special Report, December 2014.
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