Race on for next BSP governor

While tributes have been pouring in for outgoing Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr., speculations as to who would succeed him have intensified. 

Tetangco is set to retire from the top BSP post come July. There had been earlier talks about a third term for one of the most respected central bankers in the world.

It appears, however, that this is not forthcoming and that President Duterte is now looking at a short list of candidates to fill in Tetangco’s very large shoes.

Last we heard, two deputy governors, a respected head of a local bank and a former fair-haired boy of ex-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have emerged as contenders. They are BSP Deputy Governors Nestor Espenilla, Jr. and Diwa Guinigundo, EastWest Banking Corp. President Antonio Moncupa, Jr., and former Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila.

Whiles some influential parties from both the banking and political sectors are rumored to be pushing for Moncupa and a public-relations campaign is obviously being orchestrated to boost the chances of Favila, it appears the two deputy governors have the upper hand and may have Tetangco’s strong recommendation.

Ever since talks about a possible third term for Tetangco ended, the retiring BSP governor had openly endorsed the idea that a BSP insider would be the better successor.

Few would doubt Moncupa’s ability to head the much-respected institution. After all, he has had a long stint in the private banking sector and had proven his acumen both as an administrator and as financial management strategist.

Favila, on the other hand has the support of Arroyo and former Vice President and presidential candidate Jejomar Binay. Favila is one of the economic policy advisers of Binay. During the campaign period last year, Binay publicly announced that he would invite Favila to return to his old post should he win as president.

However, it looks like there is a high preference for a successor who would continue the policies and directions of Tetangco.

This is understandable. After all, these are the policies and directions that account for the present sterling reputation both of the BSP and the local banking industry.

This means Espenilla and Guinigundo could be leading the pack of viable contenders. Both are BSP long-timers, with more than three decades of service to the institution.

Espenilla heads the BSP’s Supervision and Examination sector while Guinigundo is the deputy governor for the Monetary Stability sector.

Insiders say Espenilla has the edge over Guinigundo in terms of political connections. Espenilla has been known to be closely associated with former President Noynoy Aquino.

Certain personalities linked to the Aquinos’ yellow forces are reportedly aggressively looking for the right political connections to the Palace to secure the President’s nod for Espenilla.

While Espenilla and Favila enjoy the packing of political brokers, Guinigundo is said to have the endorsement of international and Southeast Asian banking communities. This is expected. Guinigundo was head of BSP’s international operations before he became deputy governor.

He also represented the country in the International Monetary Fund and headed research in the Kuala Lumpur-based Southeast Asian Central Banks Center.

Espenilla, Guinigundo and Moncupa all have economics degrees. Espenilla obtained his from the Ateneo de Manila where he was a classmate of Noynoy Aquino; Guinigundo got his from the University of the Philippines while Moncupa is from the De La Salle University. Favila is a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas.

The guessing game now is which of the two deputy governors have the backing of Tetangco. It appears the retiring BSP governor’s endorsement will carry a lot of weight when Malacañang goes through the selection process.

Some insiders say Espenilla may have the edge. The basis of the speculation is Tetangco’s efforts to salvage Espenilla’s reputation when the latter was accused of extortion by the owner of Legacy Group, the late Celso de los Angeles who was being investigated by the BSP following the collapse of the entity.

Espenilla, while not directly named, was linked to the controversy and had dared De los Angeles to “name names” after the two had traded accusations.

Insiders recall that Tetangco had to come to Espenilla’s rescue and branded the accusations against his deputy governor as unfair. The view is that Tetangco’s willingness to vouch for Espenilla’s reputation indicates a preference for the latter.

There are views, however, that Tetangco may opt to back a non-controversial candidate; this could mean Guinigundo, who enjoys the respect of his Central Bank peers and local bankers.

A third view says Tetangco would prefer either of the two. The BSP head has openly underscored that his successor should have a long central banking experience. That narrows down the field of possible successors to Espenilla and Guinigundo.

Whoever succeeds the outgoing BSP governor will have to work hard to fill the vacuum that the highly respected Tetangco will leave behind.