The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued governance principles for the use of artificial intelligence by banks and other BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs), setting minimum supervisory expectations for managing the technology’s risks.
Issued under Memorandum No. M-2026-031 dated June 24, the Governance Principles for Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services are intended to guide financial institutions in developing their own AI governance and risk management frameworks.
The guidance is built around five principles: sustainability, transparency, accountability, responsibility, and security, collectively called STARS.
“AI is spreading across BSFI operations and STARS provides them with principles that can help them innovate while mitigating unintended consequences from the use of the technology,” BSP deputy governor Lyn I. Javier said.
“We want BSFIs to take advantage of AI, especially to serve their customers, and do so while being guided by developing global standards.”
The memorandum applies to all BSFIs, but implementation should be proportionate to the scale, complexity, and materiality of their AI systems, as well as their operational complexity and risk profiles.
It also covers third-party service providers supporting AI-related activities under a shared-responsibility model, making supervised institutions accountable for managing risks linked to outsourced systems.
Although the principles are voluntary and non-binding, the BSP said they represent its minimum supervisory expectations for AI adoption.
Financial institutions are encouraged to incorporate them into their governance structures, risk management strategies, and operational processes.
Risks arising from emerging technologies will also remain subject to the BSP’s existing Information Technology Risk Management framework, which covers areas including information security, outsourcing, and project management.
The BSP said the principles are aligned with guidance developed by the OECD, ASEAN, Financial Stability Institute, and other international organizations.
