The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas held its overnight borrowing rate unchanged at 4.50% and the overnight lending rate at 6.50%, and increased the reserve requirement 100bps to 21% effective 5 August 2011. The Bank said: “bank lending has been growing at double-digit rates since January 2011, supported by the strong momentum of domestic economic activity and stable financial conditions… The Monetary Board is of the view that sustained foreign exchange inflows, driven by upbeat market sentiment over the brighter prospects for the Philippine economy, could fuel a further acceleration of domestic liquidity growth which could pose risks to future inflation.”