About the Bank - Who We Are

International Economic Cooperation: SEACEN

Established as a legal entity in 1982, the South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) Research and Training Centre aims to serve as the regional learning hub for central banks in the Asia-Pacific region. In accordance with the Articles of Association of the SEACEN Centre, dated 27 February 1982, SEACEN’s main objectives are:

Promoting a better understanding of the financial, monetary, banking and economic development matters which are of interest to central banks of South East Asian countries or of interest to the region as a whole; and
Stimulating and facilitating cooperation among central banks in the areas of research and training.

Since its inception, SEACEN has established its unique regional position in serving its membership of central banks in the Asia-Pacific region through its learning programmes, research work, and networking and collaboration platforms for capability building in central bank knowledge.

SEACEN Activities

Trainings

The SEACEN Centre is focused in the development of high quality programmes for its members under the following central banking knowledge areas:

Macroeconomic and monetary policy management (MMPM)
Financial stability and banking supervision and regulation(FSS)
Payment and settlement system (PSS)
Central bank governance, leadership and support services (L&G)

It has collaborated with its 26 strategic partners to support SEACEN in the design and delivery of its learning programmes. These strategic partners provide SEACEN participants with exposure to international best practices in central banking knowledge in a cost-effective manner.

In 2019, SEACEN launched a total of 26 trainings under the four (4) knowledge areas and was attended by more than 600 participants from SEACEN member central banks.

Research

SEACEN aims to continue its search for collaborators in efforts to improve the quality of its learning and research programmes. It also aims to continue tapping subject matter experts from the international/regional financial community such as research centres, private banks, rating agencies, investment houses, accounting fraternity and members of the academia to provide its participants with broader perspectives and experiences in various areas of interest. The list of strategic partners and their areas of collaboration can be found in the following link:

https://www.seacen.org/Strategic_Partners/

The SEACEN Centre has completed the research projects on “The Distributional Impact of Monetary Policy in SEACEN Economies” by Dr. Maria Teresa Punzi and “ The Scope, Prospects and Implications of New Forms of Financial Intermediation for Monetary Policy in ASEAN Economies” by Dr. Ferry Syarifuddin which were implemented as part of its research activities for 2019. Additionally, two SEACEN Working Papers were released and two research studies were published in the SEACEN Centre’s website in 2019. SEACEN faculty staff has also made research contributions in external publications and journals.

High-level Seminars/Conferences

SEACEN annually conducts a policy summit bringing together central bankers, financial regulators, standard setters, industry experts/specialists and academicians to discuss topics of interest and utmost concern, such as central banking, cryptocurrency and financial technologies (FinTech). Meanwhile, high-level seminars are also being held in conjunction with the meetings of Governors, Deputy Governors, and Directors. The topics chosen are a function of new developments and debates on monetary policy, financial stability and supervision, payments and settlements, human capital, leadership, governance, research and training.

Webinars and Podcasts

SEACEN has delivered special webinars on topics relevant to macroeconomic and financial market developments. SEACEN faculty staff were often joined by special guests from central banks, international financial institutions, market experts and academe. Podcasts are hosted by SEACEN staff providing SEACEN another platform to collaborate with financial market experts and update/inform listeners on developments/issues on central banking, monetary policy management, financial market regulations and supervision, financial stability, financial innovations, leadership and governance. In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, SEACEN has launched a series of Webinars updating its members on the risk implications of Covid-19 to the global economy, international and domestic financial markets and central banking.

BSP Participation in the SEACEN Process

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is one of the eight (8) original/founding members of SEACEN. Over the years, the BSP has maintained its active participation in SEACEN activities. As a SEACEN member, the BSP:

regularly participates in the conduct of meetings of the SEACEN Executive Committee (EXCO) and the Board of Governors (BOG) which are held annually in September and November/December, respectively. The meetings discuss the activities and work plan of the SEACEN Centre, including training and research activities, high-level seminars/conferences and meetings, budget and other administrative matters;
partakes in high-level meetings/conferences conducted at the sidelines of the EXCO and BOG meetings. Topics recently covered included updates on the implementation of monetary and macroprudential policies [“Financial Cycles, Macroprudential Policy and Monetary Policy in SEACEN Member Economies” (2017) and “Monetary Policy in a Rapidly Evolving Environment” (2018)], digital/financial technologies or FinTech developments [“Digital Technologies, Financial Systems and Central Bank Policy” (2018) and “Data and Technology: Embracing innovation” (2019)], risks to financial stability [“Pursuing Stability in a World of Instability” (2017)] and new approaches to central banking [“Thinking Differently About Central Banking” (2019)];
hosts/conducts SEACEN trainings in the areas of MMPM, FSS, PSS and L&G, wherein officers/staff from relevant BSP departments/sectors served as resource persons/speakers;
collaborates in SEACEN’s research projects in which SEACEN invites research proposals on topic/s that were approved by the SEACEN EXCO and BOG; and
contributes to the SEACEN Trust Fund (STF) and SEACEN Additional Scholarship (SAS) scheme to help candidates from eligible SEACEN members and observer central banks to attend training courses, seminars, or workshops conducted by the SEACEN Centre. SEACEN members from countries¹ that are currently receiving World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA)² financing are eligible to apply for scholarships under the STF and SAS.

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¹Central banks from the following economies eligible for SAS schemes include Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal and Papua New Guinea.

²IDA is the World Bank’s fund for the 75 poorest countries to support a range of development activities, such as education, health care and infrastructure.

SEACEN Members

Member Since	Central Bank/Monetary Authorities
1982	- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas - Bank Indonesia - Bank Negara Malaysia - Bank of Thailand - Central Bank Myanmar - Central Bank of Sri Lanka - Monetary Authority of Singapore - Nepal Rastra Bank
1990	- Bank of Korea
1992	- Central Bank of Taiwan
1999	- Bank of Mongolia
2003	- Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam
2005	- Bank of Papua New Guinea
2006	- National Bank of Cambodia - State Bank of Vietnam
2011	- People’s Bank of China
2012	- Bank of Lao PDR
2013	- Reserve Bank of India
2014	- Hong Kong Monetary Authority

SEACEN has also built a wider network base. Besides its 19 regular members, 16 other central banks and monetary authorities participate in SEACEN activities either as Associate Members or Observers. These include:

Associate Members	Observers
Reserve Bank of Australia	DA Afghanistan Bank
Bangladesh Bank	Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan	Bank of Japan
Reserve Bank of Fiji	Maldives Monetary Authority
Monetary Authority of Macau	Reserve Bank of New Zealand
State Bank of Pakistan	Central Bank of Samoa
National Reserve Bank of Tonga	Central Bank of Solomon Islands
Reserve Bank of Vanuatu	Central Bank of Timor-Leste

Associate Members are invited regularly to participate in all SEACEN learning programmes as well as the annual SEACEN Governors' Conference/High-level Seminar. Meanwhile, Observers are invited solely to participate in SEACEN learning programmes.

International Economic Cooperation: SEACEN

SEACEN Activities

BSP Participation in the SEACEN Process

SEACEN Members

Link to SEACEN Website