BSP conducts vulnerability assessment of its offices to natural hazards

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) conducted an Assessment of the Vulnerability of BSP Offices to Natural Hazards (Report) which aimed to assess the potential impact of climate and environmental hazards on BSP offices and branches.

The assessment forms part of the BSP’s Sustainable Central Banking (SCB) Program to mainstream sustainability principles and green practices in the BSP operations and champion the sustainability agenda in the Philippine financial system.

The exercise involved two (2) types of assessments. First, a broad survey of the exposure of 24 BSP sites to natural hazards and extreme weather events using data generated from the HazardHunter.ph, University of the Philippines Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (UP NOAH) and related historical information and reports.

Second, an in-depth assessment of the potential impact of the most common hazards to the BSP in terms of potential financial losses due to damages to the bank premises and facilities as well as possible disruption in the delivery of business objectives. The impacts on the delivery of BSP’s business objectives were qualitatively assessed using expert judgement of Regional Offices and Branches (ROBs) and Mission-Critical Departments (MCDs), review of internal mitigating controls, business continuity plans, and previous experiences in dealing with natural hazards.

The Report recommended the (a) improvement in the resiliency of BSP facilities; (b) enhancement of the emergency response systems and business continuity strategies; (c) establishment of additional controls and practices to ensure availability of adequate buffers for financial losses; and (d) opportunities to improve further some aspects of the study for future vulnerability assessments.

The exercise benefited from the knowledge sharing with World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature Philippines and expert review of the Department of Science and Technology Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) on the methodologies adopted and areas covered in the assessment.