Finance Secretary Recto on 50 bp cut: 'I think we can'
On Tuesday, Department of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto [link] noted the US Federal Reserve’s 50 basis point cut and said, “I think we can also do half a percent.” Mr. Recto is one of seven members of the BSP’s Monetary Board, which is the entity responsible for setting our benchmark interest rate. The Governor of the BSP, Eli Remolona, is also a member of the Monetary Board (and also its Chairman); in August, he said that the BSP had room to make a 25 bp cut in FY24, but yesterday he updated these remarks by saying that we could get two 25 bp cuts in the final two Monetary Board meetings this year.