Last October 1, the Monetary board decided to provide a short-term provisional advances to the national government in the amount of P540 billion—approximately $ billion. This is came after the initial P300 billion or $ billion advances was fully settled last month. We also purchased government securities in the secondary market.
This has helped keep investors confident about the liquidity situation in the domestic capital market. Our targeted measures have benefited the vulnerable sectors. For example, loans to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs)—which account for over 60 percent of employment—now count as part of banks’ compliance to the reserve requirement. As such, we have seen a quantum jump in loans to MSMEs.