NEWSFLASH

---

U.N. PAPER LAUDS RP ECONOMIC REFORMS

United Nations, April 17, 1998 - A United Nations study praised the Philippine government's moves that enabled the country to successfully weather the regional financial crisis, "emerging with a Central Bank that is a much stronger institution with more effective supervision of the country's financial system."

The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific, released in New York, said the Philippines' relative success was due primarily to the 1993 restructuring of the country's central bank.

"The enactment of a new Central Bank in 1993 created a new independent monetary institution with large capitalization," the paper noted.

The UN study also praised the Philippines for a series of other reforms instituted by President Ramos, including limits on loans to bank directors, officers and major stockholders, controls on interlocking directorships and strict standards for capital adequacy and minimum risk-asset ratios.

The report said a series of increases over the years raised the minimum capital requirements and mandated other measures to assure the strength of the Philippine banking system.

---