 | |
 The multi-storey building of the BSP Complex in Manila | |
| Headquarters | BSP Complex,Roxas Boulevard, Manila, Philippines |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 14°33′39″N120°59′18″E / 14.56083°N 120.98833°E /14.56083; 120.98833 |
| Established | January 3, 1949; 76 years ago (1949-01-03) July 3, 1993; 32 years ago (1993-07-03) (reestablished as per the New Central Bank Act) |
| Ownership | Independent of government |
| Governor | Eli M. Remolona, Jr. |
| Central bank of | Philippines |
| Currency | Piso PHP (ISO 4217) |
| Reserves | US$107.71 billion[1] |
| Bank rate | 5.25% (as of June 20, 2025) |
| Preceded by | Central Bank of the Philippines (1949–1993) Philippine National Bank (1916–1949) |
| Website | www |
TheBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (lit. 'Central Bank of the Philippines'; commonly abbreviated asBSP in both Filipino and English) is thecentral bank of thePhilippines. It was established on January 3, 1949, and then re-established on July 3, 1993 pursuant to the provision of Republic Act 7653 or the New Central Bank Act of 1993[2] as amended by Republic Act 11211 or the New Central Bank Act of 2019.[3] The principal author was SenatorFranklin Drilon. It was signed by PresidentRodrigo Duterte.[4]
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In 1900, theFirst Philippine Commission passed Act No. 52,[5][6] which placed all banks under the Bureau of the Treasury and authorizing the Insular Treasurer to supervise and examine banks and all banking activity. In 1929, theDepartment of Finance, through the Bureau of Banking, took over bank supervision.
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By 1933, a group ofFilipinos had conceptualized a central bank for thePhilippine Islands.[7] It came up with the rudiments of a bill for the establishment of a central bank after a careful study of the economic provisions of theHare–Hawes–Cutting Act, which would grant Philippine independence after 12 years, but reserving military and naval bases for theUnited States and imposing tariffs and quotas on Philippine exports. However, the Hare–Hawes–Cutting Act would be rejected by theSenate of the Philippines at the urging ofCommonwealth PresidentManuel L. Quezon. This Senate then advocated a new bill that wonUnited States PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt's support, this would be theTydings–McDuffie Act, which would grant Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.
Under theCommonwealth, discussions continued regarding the idea of a Philippine central bank that would promoteprice stability and economic growth. The country's monetary system then was administered by the Department of Finance and the National Treasury, and thePhilippine piso was on the exchange standard using theUnited States dollar, which was backed by 100 percentgold reserve, as the standard currency.
As required by theTydings–McDuffie Act, theNational Assembly of the Philippines in 1939 passed a law establishing a central bank. As it was a monetary law, it required the approval of thePresident of the United States;Franklin D. Roosevelt did not give his. A second law was passed in 1944 under theJapanese-controlledSecond Republic during theSecond World War, but the 1945 arrival of American liberation forces, aided by Philippine Commonwealth troops and recognised guerrillas, aborted its implementation.
Shortly afterPresidentManuel Roxas assumed office in 1946, he instructed then-Finance SecretaryMiguel Cuaderno, Sr. to draw up a charter for a central bank.[8] The establishment of a monetary authority became imperative a year later as a result of the findings of the Joint Philippine-American Finance Commission chaired by Cuaderno. The commission, which studied Philippine financial, monetary, and fiscal problems in 1947, recommended a shift from the dollar exchange standard to amanaged currency system. A central bank was needed to implement this proposed shift.
Roxas then created the Central Bank Council to prepare the charter of a proposed monetary authority. It was submitted toCongress in February 1948. The Central Bank Act authored by then CongressmanJosé J. Roy was signed into law in June of the same year[9] by the newly proclaimed PresidentElpidio Quirino, who succeeded the late President Roxas, affixing his signature onRepublic Act (RA) No. 265 or the Central Bank Act of 1948.[10] On January 3, 1949, the Central Bank of the Philippines was formally inaugurated with Cuaderno as the first governor.[11] The main duties and responsibilities of the Central Bank were to promote economic development and maintain internal and external monetary stability.[12]
Over the years, changes were introduced to make the charter more responsive to the needs of the economy. On November 29, 1972, PresidentFerdinand Marcos' Presidential Decree No. 72[13] amended Republic Act No. 265, emphasizing the maintenance of domestic and international monetary stability as the primary objective of the Central Bank. The Bank's authority was also expanded to include regulation of the nation's entire financial system just supervision of the banking system. In 1981, RA 265, as amended, was further improved to strengthen the financial system,[10] among the changes was the increase in the capitalization of the Central Bank from₱10 million to ₱10 billion.[13]
In the1973 Constitution, the interimBatasang Pambansa (National Assembly) was mandated to establish an independent central monetary authority. Presidential Decree No. 1801 designated the Central Bank of the Philippines as the central monetary authority (CMA).[14]
The Central Bank facilitated loans toMarcos cronies at Marcos's behest. Through thesebehest loans, large sums of money went to cronies' projects, including several that were not considered feasible.[15]
In 1984, a Monetary Board report discovered that the Central Bank overstated the country's dollar reserves by approximately $600 million, which was caused by anomalous transactions made to overseas branches of thePhilippine National Bank in a desperate effort to generate non-existent foreign exchange reserves to increase lending and credit creation.[16][17] The Central Bank's financial stability was also undermined by large emergency loans that it made to failing institutions such asBanco Filipino and financing of government deficits and loss-making assets, which eroded itscapital requirement.[18] This eventually caused the Central Bank to becomeinsolvent, effectively becomingbankrupt.[17][16]
Following thePeople Power Revolution which overthrew President Marcos, the1987 Constitution adopted the CMA provisions from the 1973 Constitution that were aimed at establishing an independent monetary authority through increased capitalization and greater private sector representation in the Monetary Board.[14]
In accordance with this provision, PresidentFidel V. Ramos signedRepublic Act No. 7653, otherwise known asThe New Central Bank Act,[2] into law on June 14, 1993.[19][20] Taking on the reins of the bankrupt Central Bank, the new law provided for the establishment of an independent monetary authority to be known as the "Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas", with its primary objective being the maintenance of price stability, which was previously only implied in the old Central Bank charter. The law also gives theBangko Sentral fiscal and administrative autonomy which the old Central Bank did not have. On July 3, 1993, the New Central Bank Act took effect.[2]
On the evening of September 26, 2012, a Wednesday, the BSP website was hacked by a group namedAnonymous Philippines in a protest against the recently passedCybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.[21][22] The website was promptly restored in the early hours of the following day.[23]
On April 23, 2013,The Asian Banker named the BSP as the Best Macroeconomic Regulator in the Asia-Pacific Region for 2013 inThe Asian Banker Leadership Achievement Awards inJakarta, Indonesia.[24][25] The BSP was cited as a "good, strong, and fair-minded regulator." About a month later, the BSP was given the country award by the Child and Youth Finance International in its 2013 International Summit inIstanbul, Turkey, in recognition of its initiative to integratefinancial literacy education into thePhilippine elementary school curriculum.[26] In 2019, PresidentRodrigo Duterte signed R.A. 11211, further increasing the Bank's capitalization to ₱200 billion.[27][3]
TheBank for International Settlements signed an agreement withCentral Bank of Malaysia,Bank of Thailand, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,Monetary Authority of Singapore, and theReserve Bank of India on 30 June 2024 as founding member of Project Nexus, a multilateral international initiative to enable retail cross-border payments.Bank Indonesia involved as a special observer. The platform, which is expected to go live by 2026, will interlink domestic fast payment systems of the member countries.[28]
As prescribed by theNew Central Bank Act,[29] the main functions of the Bangko Sentral are:
The basic structure[30] of the Bangko Sentral includes:
The powers and function of Bangko Sentral are exercised by its Monetary Board, whose seven members are appointed by the President of the Philippines. As provided for by RA 7653 or the New Central Bank Act, one of the government sector members of the Monetary Board must also be a member ofCabinet. Members of the Monetary Board are prohibited from holding certain positions in other government agencies and private institutions that may give rise to conflicts of interest. The members have fixed and overlapping terms, except for the Cabinet Secretary representing the incumbent administration.[32]
The current members[31] of the Monetary Board are:
The Bangko Sentral has 32 currencies directly convertible with thePhilippine peso,[34] which serves as a benchmark for all Philippine banks.
Convertible currencies with Bangko Sentral:
Australian dollar (AUD)
Bahraini dinar (BHD)
British pound (GBP)
Brunei dollar (BND)
Canadian dollar (CAD)
Chinese yuan (CNY)
Euro (EUR)
Hong Kong dollar (HKD)
Indonesian rupiah (IDR)
Japanese yen (JPY)
South Korean won (KRW)
Kuwaiti dinar (KWD)
Saudi riyal (SAR)
Singapore dollar (SGD)
Swiss franc (CHF)
Thai baht (THB)
United Arab Emirates dirham (AED)
United States dollar (USD)Others (Not Convertible With BSP):
Argentina Peso (ARS)
Brazil Real (BRL)
Denmark Kroner (DKK)
India Rupee (INR)
Malaysia Ringgit (MYR)
Mexico New Peso (MXN)
New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
Norway Kroner (NOK)
Pakistan Rupee (PKR)
South Africa Rand (ZAR)
Sweden Kroner (SEK)
Syria Pound (SYP)
Taiwan NT Dollar (TWD)
Venezuela Bolivar (VEB)In 2000, the General Banking Law[35] mandated the BSP to recognizemicrofinance as a legitimate banking activity and to set the rules and regulations for its practice within the banking sector. In the same year, the BSP declared microfinance as its flagship program forpoverty alleviation. The BSP has become the prime advocate for the development of microfinance. To this end, the Bangko Sentral aims to:
The Bank is active in promoting afinancial inclusion policy and is a leading member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.[36] It is also one of the original 17 regulatory institutions to make specific national commitments to financial inclusion under theMaya Declaration[37] during the 2011Global Policy Forum held inMexico.
Withmoney laundering being one of the problems of the Philippines,[38] the BSP has issued a number of measures to bring the Philippines' regulatory regime on money laundering closer to international standards. In September 2001, theAnti-Money Laundering Act, or AMLA, was made into law.[39][40] The AMLA defined money laundering a criminal offense, and prescribed corresponding penalties. It also provided the foundation for a central monitoring and implementing council called theAnti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). The AMLC is composed of the Governor of the Bangko Sentral as chair, and the Commissioner of the Insurance Commission and the Chairman of theSecurities and Exchange Commission as members, all acting unanimously in the discharge of the group's mandate.[41]
In February 2013, Philippine PresidentBenigno Aquino III signed "Republic Act No. 10365" known asAn Act Further Strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering Law,[42] which aims to strengthen the AMLC by requiring that any suspicious transaction in foreign exchange, real estate, and jewelry and precious metal trading be reported.[43]
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) introduced regulations in September 2025 requiring enhanced due diligence for cash transactions exceeding ₱500,000 per day, as part of efforts to combat money laundering and corruption.[44]
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The 2020 logo of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was first adopted as the central bank's primary logo in November 20, 2020 with the design receiving endorsement by theNational Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).[45] The circular symbol features a full-bodied gold-coloredPhilippine eagle based on actual photographs of the bird and three stars.[46]
The logo featuring a more stylized rendition of the eagle is still used since March 2010 upon the announcement of an imminent start of print run and subsequent release to the public ofNew Generation Currency (NGC) from November to December 2010 where an earlier design that is closer to the final during its production was previewed and then unveiled to the public on May 7, 2010. Six months after the unveiling, it was used on NGC banknotes printed from its initial batch on November 2010 to December 2022 and coins from November 30, 2017 until the said month of 2022, and on the central bank's headquarters in Manila and Security Plant Complex in Quezon City from 2012 to 2022. It is concurrently used with the 1993 and 2020 logos since March 2010 and November 20, 2020, respectively.[47][48][49][50]
Within the main Manila complex of the BSP is theMuseo ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (English: Museum of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas). Inaugurated on January 3, 1999, as part of the golden jubilee of central banking in the country, theMuseo showcases the BSP's collection of currencies.[51]
As repository and custodian of the country'snumismatic heritage, theMuseo collects, studies and preserves coins, paper notes, medals, artifacts and monetary items found in the Philippines during its different historical periods. These collections have been placed on permanent display at theMuseo. Designed to "walk" the visitor through a number of galleries dedicated to a specific historical period of the country, theMuseo visually narrates the development of the Philippine economy, parallel to the evolution of its currency.[52] Complementary paintings from the BSP's art collection,[53][54] together with chosen artifacts, enhance each gallery.
A panoramic memorabilia of central banking in the Philippines, it showcases the strides made in bringing about price stability to sustain economic growth in the country. The exhibition hall also features portrait busts of previous governors.
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The Security Plant Complex, or SPC, was formally established on September 7, 1978, to safeguard the printing, minting, refining, issuance, distribution and durability of coins,banknotes,gold bars, government official receipts,lottery tickets, internalrevenue stamps,passports, seaman identification record books, stripstamps, official documents, registration certificates,Torrens titles,treasury warrants,stocks andbonds, government contracts,ration coupons,official ballots,election return forms,checks and othersecurity printing or minting jobs of the Philippine government.
Printing of official ballots and other public documents was later transferred to theNational Printing Office pursuant to Executive Order No. 285[55] issued on July 25, 1987.[56]
On August 4, 2003, PresidentGloria Macapagal Arroyo issued "Administrative Order No. 79",[57] which designated the SPC as the sole producer ofinsignia of national orders, decorations, and medals.[58]
The BSP will relocate its security plant complex fromEast Avenue, Quezon City to theNational Government Administrative Center district ofNew Clark City inCapas, Tarlac after it signed a memorandum of agreement with theBases Conversion and Development Authority in September 2019. The new currency production facility will be located on a 29-hectare (72-acre) plot near the access road connectingNew Clark City inPampanga to theSubic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway and it is expected to be completed within two years.[59]
Media related toBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas at Wikimedia Commons
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