On completion of the first phase where nearly 74000 villages with population more than 2000 were provided with a banking outlet, we are now in the second phase where the remaining unbanked villages, numbering close to 4,90,000, are identified in villages less than 2000 population and allocated to banks, for opening of banking outlets by Match 2016. VIII.
Beyond targeted monetary policy measures, the BSP implemented extraordinary liquidity measures to help the national government finance its COVID-19 response. As a former budget secretary under three administrations, I fully appreciate the predicament of the national government as it faces this unprecedented crisis. As the economy contracted, revenues plummeted.