The Financial Sector Forum (FSF) – comprising the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Insurance Commission (IC), and Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) – has successfully wrapped up its Fourth Financial Conglomerate Supervisory College, a collaborative initiative aimed at bolstering the oversight of financial conglomerates to ensure the stability of the country’s financial system.

Launched in October 2024, the Fourth Supervisory College culminated with the presentation of its results during the FSF Principals’ meeting on 30 May. The FSF has announced plans to launch the fifth college starting in the second half of 2025, continuing its efforts to strengthen cross-sectoral supervision.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona, Jr., who chairs the forum and leads the college, underscored the initiative’s value: “The supervisory college program demonstrates our commitment to effective oversight of financial conglomerates through collective action. Sustained collaboration enables us to advance a harmonized, cross-sectoral approach to managing conglomerate risks.”

The supervisory college engages the country’s leading financial regulators in intense, months-long discussions to examine the risk profile of each financial conglomerate. This includes aligning supervisory risk assessment frameworks and crafting detailed supervisory plans that focus on subsidiaries and affiliates making material contributions to the business – and that contribute strategic significance to the conglomerate as a whole.

These supervisory plans delineate critical activities, timelines, and institutional responsibilities for each regulator, fostering a coordinated monitoring approach.

Building on its predecessors, the Fourth Supervisory College further entrenched standardized policies and structured data analysis – ensuring consistent risk evaluations across sectors.

Looking ahead, the FSF reaffirmed its dedication to advancing consolidated supervision practices, enhancing supervisory capacity, and harmonizing frameworks to safeguard the resilience of financial conglomerates in an ever-evolving environment.