Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. is the fourth and current Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. He was appointed by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on 8 May 2017 and assumed office on 3 July 2017.

Espenilla graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics (magna cum laude) from the University of the Philippines in 1981. He also earned his Master of Business Administration honors degree from the University of the Philippines in 1982 and obtained his Master of Science degree in Policy Science from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, Japan in 1988.

After graduating from the University of the Philippines in 1981, Espenilla was hired by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as a debt analyst.[6]Known to his co-workers as “Nesting”,[7] Espenilla steadily rose through the ranks, earning his stripes in economic research and international operations, before he was appointed by Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005 as deputy governor for supervision and examination sector[8] under the administration of his predecessor Amando Tetangco Jr.[1][2][3] When Philippine president Benigno S. Aquino III took office in 2010, Tetangco’s term would have expired, but Aquino reappointed him and his deputies—including Espenilla—to their positions.[9]

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Espenilla as BSP governor on 8 May 2017 and assumed office on 3 July 2017. He bested other contenders for the position, including former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, fellow BSP deputy governor Diwa Gunigundo, EastWest Bank vice chairman and CEO Antonio Moncupa Jr. and former Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila. His selection was hailed as a wise decision by several key personalities in the government and the banking sector, including Tetangco, FinanceSecretary Carlos Dominguez III, Security Bank president and CEO Alfonso Salcedo Jr. and ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng.