Fil C. Sionil Under the present circumstances when the new normal, particularly on a Friday night, is traffic gridlock, a condition exacerbated by the occasional downpour, one would rather go home early. But for business and banking community stalwarts, if the invitation for a cocktails comes from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), unless there’s other more pressing event, you have to be in attendance. When the BSP beckons, almost always, the top honchos in the industry attend. July 26 was a dazzling Friday night. It was the first-ever reception hosted by BSP Governor Benjamin “Ben” E. Diokno for the banking community in celebration of the 26th anniversary of the revitalized, autonomous monetary authority following the enactment of Republic Act (RA) 7653, our “banking bible” during the time of its first governor, the late Gabriel “Gabby” C. Singson. The gathering was also to commemorate the 70 years of central banking in the country, marked with the launching of the book “@70 from 1949 to 2019, The Story of Philippine Central Banking: Stability and Strength at Seventy” written by career central bankers. The assembly hall was teeming with guests from newly elected senators to business tycoons – Lucio Tan and Tessie Sy Coson – to ambassadors, former and current Monetary Board members, former BSP governors, top tier officers of the BSP, bank presidents and chief country heads, to Philippine Stock Exchange Chairman Jose “Titoy” Pardo, and of course, economic journalists. For the members of the fourth estate, it was a dazzling Friday night. Mingling with the guests, I listened to discussions on said issues as the triple RRR (reduction in reserve requirements, inflation, interest and growth rates forecasts, the rice tariffication law, the recent vehicular accident of MBM Jun de Zuniga caused by “sudden acceleration,” and the newest restaurants on the block. The latest news on Bea Alonzo-Gerald Anderson with Julia Barretto as the third party was also a hot topic, which made me realize that one of my favorite bankers was not in attendance. The reason: He’s addicted to watching Tagalog movies and is always up to date with showbiz developments. He used to be with a foreign lender; now he’s with a local bank. The forthcoming U2 concert tour in the region did not escape discussion as well, which got Singapore Ambassador to the Philippines Gerard Ho Wei Hong riled up. Japan and Singapore are in the itinerary of the Bono-led band. That was last Friday. On Tuesday night, U2 is coming to the country, a welcome development for baby boomers that have yet to purchase concert tickets and book flights for Singapore or Japan. And while some of the guests were queuing up for BED and the authors of the book, guess who was this former 501 (the room of the BSP Go.) resident who regaled other guests by becoming a paparazzi. Borrowing the camera of an official photographer, he used his skill as a range sharp shooter to take good photos. Also in attendance was recently retired Deutsche Bank chief country officer Enrico “Eric” Cruz with Michael S. Chua, who is now steering the German bank. Mr. Eric confirmed he will joining the Security Bank board this month as independent director. The banking wheels churned on his side with the Monetary Board giving the green light. Talk back to me at [email protected]