From its creation in 1949 until the 1960s, the Central Bank of the Philippines dominated industrial policy, becoming a symbol of nationalism for a newly independent state. The pre-war
Philippine National Bank was closely linked to the colonial administration and plagued by corruption scandals. Yet, as Yusuke Takagai shows in this history of the Central Bank, with the
country moving toward independence, ambitious young politicians, colonial bureaucrats, and private sector professionals concluded that economic decolonization required a new bank, free from
the individuals and institutions that had dominated the colonial economy. Positioning this bank within broader political structures, Takagi concludes that the Filipino policymakers behind the
Central Bank worked not for vested interests associated with colonial or neo-colonial rule but for essential policy and structural reform.
