In photo: Former Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat during the 21st Global Summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). (Photo from THEPHILBIZNEWS/MAS)
FinTech Alliance.PH congratulates outgoing Department of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat for being recently appointed as the new deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for financial inclusion initiatives and regional operations.
Before being tapped by President Rodrigo Duterte as tourism chief in 2018, Puyat served as an undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture from 2007 to 2018. She was also an economic consultant for the Housing and Urban Development Coordination Council from 2001 to 2002.
FinTech Alliance.PH is the premier thought leader and largest organization of financial technology companies from startups to unicorns contributing over 90 percent of digital-initiated transactions volume in the Philippines today.
“The Alliance fully supports the appointment of BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat who will head the financial inclusion and regional operations offices of the country’s central bank. We look forward to working with the new deputy governor in implementing initiatives and programs aligned with the recently launched National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2022-2028. We believe that she will truly champion wider financial inclusivity and shared prosperity in the country,” said Lito Villanueva, Founding Chairman of FinTech Alliance PH, and Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC).
Last February, the BSP launched the Philippines’ National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) 2022-2028 which highlights key strategies to make sure inclusive finance will be sustainable in the coming years. The NSFI 2022-2028 is focused on delivering four key outcomes, namely reduced disparities in financial inclusion, improved financial health and resilience, more financially capable and empowered consumers, and increased access to finance for mSMEs, including startups, and the agriculture sector.
“Inclusive digital finance now takes center stage with Deputy Governor Romulo-Puyat’s appointment, further sustaining the BSP’s great inroads in banking the unbanked and underserved,” Villanueva added.
