BSP fully supports government efforts to exit FATF gray list

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has reinforced its commitment to combat money laundering and terrorism financing as the country moves closer to exiting the gray list of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

In a statement yesterday, the BSP said it welcomes the FATF’s recent assessment where it recognized key reforms that the Philippines has made on anti-money laundering/countering terrorism and proliferation financing (AML/CTPF) initiatives.

“The BSP remains committed to reinforcing the integrity of the Philippine financial system and continues to conduct risk-based AML/CTPF examinations, thematic reviews and capacity building programs,” the central bank said.

The FATF has announced at its October plenary that “the Philippines has substantially completed its action plan” and warrants an onsite assessment.

The FATF’s Asia-Pacific Joint Group (APJG) will visit the Philippines early next year to verify the sustainability of reforms toward addressing the 18 action plan items as well as the high-level political commitment of the government to continue improving the country’s AML/CTPF regime.

Should the country pass this assessment, it will mark the Philippines’ removal from the gray list, which it has been on since June 2021.

Failure to address the remaining action plan items would have put the Philippines at risk of entering the blacklist.

“A gray list exit will benefit Filipinos, especially Overseas Filipino Workers, through faster and cheaper remittances and other cross-border transactions,” the BSP said.

Since the Philippines was re-included on the FATF’s gray list in June 2021, the BSP has worked with the national government to further strengthen the country’s AML/CTPF supervisory regime.

The BSP also partnered and worked closely with the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Insurance Commission in risk-based AML/CTPF supervision.

The Philippine central bank also carried out relevant action plans to enhance money service business supervision and the effectiveness of targeted financial sanctions.

“(The BSP) has implemented and sufficiently addressed these action plans within the set timelines in 2022,” it said.

The central bank also recognized the continuing efforts of banks and other BSP-supervised financial institutions to improve their AML/CTPF frameworks.