As the financial markets absorb the policy action of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), there’s a hum going around the market place about the other move being undertaken by the BSP Governor and his team.

“Have been scheduled? Have you met him and his team,” are but some of the exchanges among bank treasury officials?

From what I’ve gathered, the culture of Marites has never been as alive as it is now. And, there’s a peculiar level of haughtiness and confidence – the swag – from those who were ahead of the pack.

I‘m referring to BSP Governor Eli Remolona’s face-to-face, one-on-one meeting with the head honcho of banks and financial institutions’ treasury departments.

Yes, Virginia, he is making the rounds not only to touch base with the market makers but also to listen to their thoughts on certain issues relative to official data that are deemed crucial in trading transactions.

“We’re doing this …(because) we need to understand the market. Previous to this, we’re dependent on data/statistics,” Gov. Eli explained in his usual unassuming demeanor.

Just an aside but important as well: Are you missing Pia Bernadette Roman Tayag in the company of the BSP Governor? Are you curious? The reason: Ms. Pia now has her own fiefdom. She is the newest assistant governor (AG) for the Sustainability and Strategic Sector.

As a consequence of Ms. Pia’s new responsibility and focus, Gov. Eli has a relatively new chief of staff, Veronica B. Bayangos. Relatively? Simply because she has been with the BSP in various capacities and sectors — from the Financial Supervision Sector under Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier to the BSP Research Academy headed by AG Laura Ignacio.

Back to being in touch with the market movers/players. Keeping an ear to the ground is a listening tool that allows one to be mindful of emerging sentiment, new information, trends, and, more importantly, perspective on market-moving issues.

It was embraced by Ben Bernanke during his eight-year stint, from 2006 to 2014, as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the US Federal Reserves.

Bernanke 101 for millennials: the second-termer US Fed Chair worked in sync with the US Treasury Department to bolster major banks and ease a shortage of credit, bringing down short-term interest to zero. In 2022, he was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research that focused on the causes and consequences of the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Here, the longest 501 resident, BSP Gov. Amando “Say” M. Tetangco, Jr., likewise embraced the same concept of meeting from time to time market movers to get the feel of the ground.

To his credit, Gov. Say paid attention to everything happening in and around the market as well as understood what the market players were saying.

For a market observer, making the rounds and talking to market players and makers is very potent and has an endearing quality and a lasting positive impression. One doesn’t lose anything by hearing from the ground.

In fact, for me, such effort implies that the monetary authorities care. It’s a win-win situation: the BSP has the numbers and/or data, while the market has the feel.

Way to go, Gov. Eli!

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