(Bloomberg) — The Philippines’ unexpected 75-basis-point rate hike was delivered in a way that might surprise some central bank watchers: via a four-minute live video on Facebook.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla gave a short statement on Thursday in a Zoom broadcast on the monetary authority’s Facebook page, announcing that the key interest rate will rise to 3.25%. The livestream gained 2,000 views in less than an hour and Medalla could be heard speaking casually off-camera before and after the broadcast.
Philippines Surprises With Big rate Hike to Cool Inflation
In much of the world, Facebook isn’t the first place you’d expect an interest rate rise to be announced. But in the Philippines, the social-media platform is commonly used to deliver official news and announcements, including those from the central bank.
About 83.9 million people in the country use the platform, Rappler reported in April, citing We Are Social. Two-thirds of Filipinos have internet access and they are more active on social media than in other Southeast Asian countries.
The bank holds a rate-setting meeting every six weeks, with the next scheduled decision due — on Facebook — in August.
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