At the current range, the peso’s competitiveness has improved back to 2008 levels as measured by the real effective exchange rate (REER) index. The Philippine banking system is very stable and very dynamic, with good asset quality, sustained profitability, and adequate capitalization. For the third quarter of this year, total banking system resources expanded by 14.1 percent year-on-year, to P14.6 trillion.
As a consequence, policymakers will need to consider how changes in technologies and world markets may have altered the response of our economies to oil-price shocks and, thus, how best to respond to them.