Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) continues to adopt a “modernized” approach to reserve management after the central bank received recognition for its handling of foreign reserves last year.
In the annual awards of Central Banking Publications, a global information resource, the BSP was announced as among the first batch of winners in 2025, particularly bagging recognition for its reserve management.
Recognizing the award as a reflection of the BSP’s “disciplined” stewardship of foreign reserves, Remolona assured sustained efforts to contain price movements and protect financial stability.
“We continue to be prudent, risk-based and forward-looking in our reserve management. This is a vital step toward safeguarding price and financial stability,” Remolona said.
Jerome Powell, chair of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United States (US), was named governor of the year, while the central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was recognized for its risk management.
According to the international award-giving body, the BSP stood out in 2025 for modernizing its approach to managing the Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR), or US dollar stock, across multiple areas.
“Changes included upgrading its strategic asset allocation framework, deploying active risk-management techniques, diversifying reserves, internalizing investments in new asset classes, updating external fund manager rules, changing its gold management and improving responsible investing guidelines,” Central Banking said.
Recall that fresh gains in gold reserves lifted the Philippines’ GIR to a record high last year, expanding to $110.9 billion at end-2025.
This strong 2025 close could be attributed to higher global gold prices, despite a decline in the BSP’s earnings from its investments. Gold reserves stood at $18.6 billion, posting a new record level since 2000.