Instead, the CRA simply directs the banking regulatory agencies to ensure that banks serve the credit needs of their local communities in a safe and sound manner. In effect, the agencies were left with considerable discretion and flexibility to modify the rules in light of changes in the economy and in financial markets (Garwood and Smith, 1993).
One such reform concerns Financial Market Infrastructures or FMIs, the piping that allows trades to be processed and critical risk information to be properly monitored. For a market such as the Philippines, this is critical but it is also a clear challenge. Certainly, we need FMI pipelines to execute market transactions, provide transparency, ensure price discovery, introduce risk mitigation, and generate efficiencies.