By: Randy Salonga

The Money Market Association of the Philippines (MART) held its First General Membership Meeting last March 15, 2013 at the Grand Ballroom of Intercontinental Manila in Makati City. The event was well-attended by the members coming largely from the banking community and other financial institutions, who witnessed the induction of this year’s committee chairpersons and new members by MART President, Mr. Michael Calleja. The association also gave recognition to the immediate past president, Mr. Raul Victor Tan, for his leadership and accomplishments for the previous year. The highlight of the night was the presence of the Treasurer of the Philippines, Honorable Rosalia V. de Leon, who was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III in November 2012. In such a short period of time, many notable achievements have already been made under her belt. In her speech, she highlighted the high economic growth achieved in 2012, with low inflation coming in at 3.2%, the full year deficit settling at 2.3% of GDP, while GDP grew by 6.6%, exceeding forecasts and placing the Philippines as one of Asia’s best performing economies. The Treasurer also stressed the importance of setting up the single pricing system to integrate the 60 to 70% taxable market with the remaining non-taxable market. This will further boost the secondary bond market and expand the playing field. As she looks forward towards the country’s progress to investment grade status, she hopes to continue in advancing the department’s cost and risk objectives by taking advantage of the low interest rate environment and utilizing a financing mix leaning towards domestic sources of financing, i.e., larger bond issue sizes as a way to meet the growing market demand. For the Honorable Treasurer, at the end of the day, the challenge is to sustain, if not accelerate, the economic growth the Philippines is experiencing. And what better way to do this than by establishing a healthy and efficient financial system.