Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) new Monetary Board member, Eli M. Remolona Jr. has taken his oath office as the policy-making body's seventh member, the position vacated by now BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla.
In a statement on Thursday, Aug. 18, the BSP said Remolona, formerly of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), will serve the unexpired term of Medalla which is until July 2023.
“We welcome the appointment of Dr. Remolona to the Monetary Board. His invaluable expertise and practical experience should contribute greatly to the fulfillment of BSP’s mandates,” said Medalla.
The BSP’s Monetary Board has seven members with the governor as chairperson. It also includes as member the current Secretary of the Department of Finance, former BSP chief, Benjamin E. Diokno. The powers and functions of the BSP are exercised through the Monetary Board which sets the policy directions of the country in the areas of money, banking, and credit.
Remolona has worked for the BIS for 20 years, both in Basel and Hong Kong BIS offices, and 14 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
He was also the Director of Central Banking and a Professor of Finance at the Kuala-Lumpur-based Asia School of Business, which was established in 2015 as a partnership between Bank Negara Malaysia and the MIT Sloan School of Management, said the BSP.
Remolona taught at Williams College, Columbia University, and New York University in the US, as well as at the University of the Philippines. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Ateneo de Manila.
Before his post as Monetary Board member, he was independent director of Bank of the Philippine Islands.