“The President has decided. Nestor Espenilla is the new BSP Governor,” he later said on his official Twitter account.
“A very wise choice after a thorough evaluation of the future needs of the country and of all the candidates.”
Espenilla is a career central banker, starting in the BSP in 1981. He made his way up the ranks, working in economic research and international operations. He was appointed Deputy Governor in 2005, responsible for the supervision and examination of banks and other financial institutions.
The BSP has historically been led by bankers from the private sector, until Tetangco was chosen as governor in 2005 — the first career official to be appointed to the top post at the central bank.
In the last few months leading up to the President’s appointment, Tetangco has strongly backed having another insider succeed him.
“The choice of an insider in the person of Deputy Governor Espenilla ensures the continuity of policy and thought process in the BSP,” Tetangco said in a text message on Monday.
“Espenilla is well-respected in the banking community and highly-regarded by other central banks and financial regulators both here and abroad. He is also well-supported by the BSP family. I am confident that with him at the helm, the BSP will continue to be a pillar of support to the economy, that should remain among the top-performing economies in the world.”
In an earlier interview with CNN Philippines, Espenilla said he would prioritize reforms on digital finance and informal lending. “Far too many Filipinos have limited access to financial services,” he said.
He also wanted a strict monitoring of banks and financial institutions so Filipinos can build their trust in them. He explained, “This is hard-earned money that we are talking about. People want to be with institutions they can trust, institutions that will not prey upon them.”
Last year, Espenilla led investigations into the $81-million Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. money laundering scam. The Yuchengco-led bank was fined a record P1-billion fir its violations of banking regulations.
He said the RCBC scandal was a “wake-up call” to the BSP that much still needed to be done to enforce regulations on the ground.
Despite being a career central banker, Espenilla also assured that he had his ear to the ground, aware of the needs of the private sector.
“Part of the hallmark of the way we supervise financial institutions is constant dialogue and engagement with the industry. So you may not believe it but we meet very regularly with all kinds of industry associations,” he said.
Other frontrunners in the BSP race were Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo and EastWest Vice-Chairman and CEO Antonio Moncupa, Jr.
