Responding to a request from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for developing a regulatory and supervisory framework for operational resilience, a Technical Assistance mission aided the authorities in identifying regulatory gaps, provided guidance in enhancing the regulatory framework and delivered a training program focusing on regulatory aspects pertaining to operational resilience. The recommendations focused on articulating the case for policy initiative, developing a regulation in consultation with the industry, considering potential severe but plausible scenarios.
International Monetary Fund. Asia and Pacific Dept
The economy is recovering from the shocks of civil unrest in November 2021 and a local outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2022, driven by increasing activity after the reopening of the border and preparation for the 2023 Pacific Games. But the recovery has been fragile, as Russia’s war in Ukraine has led to a decline in the terms of trade and rising inflation. A large pipeline of infrastructure projects financed by concessional borrowing is expected to support medium-term growth and help reduce a large infrastructure gap. But the country’s external position is projected to significantly weaken because of these projects and declining log exports, with reserve coverage declining as a result. This outlook highlights the pressing needs for reform to improve public investment management, as well as to diversify the economy and enhance its competitiveness.
International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
Outlook and Risks. Economic activity is projected to moderate after a strong recovery from the pandemic. After growing by 15 percent in 2021 and 12 percent in 2022, real GDP is projected to grow by 2.4 percent in 2023 and 2.0 percent over the medium term as spare capacity is exhausted. Revenue growth and fiscal consolidation have increased the primary balance to 1.2 percent of GDP from FY2022 onwards, which is projected to reduce public debt from 64 percent of GDP in 2022 to 53 percent in 2028. Risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside, including a sharp slowdown in advanced economies, further increases in commodity prices, and climate-related disasters.
International Monetary Fund. Monetary and Capital Markets Department
At the request of the CBTT, a TA mission on strengthening cybersecurity in financial institutions was delivered during the period October 31–November 4, 2022. The Governor requested the TA during the 2022 Spring Meetings and the deliverables for the mission and the milestones were identified by having a dialogue with the authority. The mission had two objectives: (i) to strengthen the cybersecurity of the financial institutions under the supervisory ambit of CBTT and (ii) to improve the cybersecurity stance of the CBTT. For the project for strengthening cybersecurity of the Central Bank an internal project team has been constituted. For strengthening cybersecurity of financial institutions, the CBTT has established a working group comprising all the financial regulators (namely, the CBTT, Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission (TTSEC), the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (FIUTT), and the Office of the Commission of Cooperative Development (CCD) to draft a cybersecurity guideline for financial institutions and a supervisory manual.