MAS launched a $ million support package in April 2020, to sustain and strengthen capabilities in the financial services and FinTech sectors. The package has two main components: enhanced subsidies for training and manpower costs; and strengthening digitalisation for operational resilience. Top of our agenda is skills. We cannot let up on training and upskilling because of COVID-19. On the contrary, the pandemic has underscored the importance of upskilling, and created the opportunity to do so. Working closely with the financial industry, MAS is taking a comprehensive approach to the skills agenda. Take-up of the various schemes since April has been strong. To help the existing workforce to upskill, MAS has enhanced to 90% the subsidies for training courses certified by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF). Close to 11,000 trainees have availed themselves of these training courses since April. To enable fresh graduates to gain meaningful job experience, MAS has enhanced salary support for structured talent development programmes offered by the financial institutions. Financial institutions have committed to hiring approximately 740 Singaporeans under these programmes over the next three years. MAS is also working with the financial industry and Workforce Singapore (W SG) to create traineeship opportunities under the various SGUnited programmes to build the skills necessary for future high growth areas in the financial sector. As of mid-June, 31 financial institutions have offered more than 1,000 vacancies for trainees. To support mid career workers prepare for new roles, MAS has been working closely with IBF and Workforce Singapore.

MAS also set up a $ billion US Dollar Facility that is available to all banks, on the back of the swap arrangement with the US Federal Reserve. This Facility has helped to stabilise US Dollar funding conditions in Singapore, and enabled US Dollar lending to businesses in Singapore and in the region. About $ billion has been provided through this Facility. FINANCIAL STABILITY  The COVID-19 shock has also increased the risks to global financial stability. The world entered the current crisis with one strong card and one weak card. The strong card is the banking sector. Globally, banks are generally in good shape, with healthy capital and liquidity buffers. The weak card is the corporate sector. In many parts of the world, corporate debt levels were already high pre-COVID, and will increase further through the course of this crisis. With tight cash flows, over-leveraged entities could face financial distress, leading in turn to ratings downgrades and corporate defaults. Mounting corporate defaults will strain banks’ profitability and capital positions. The strong card could become progressively weaker. If this happens, banks will be less able to sustain credit to the real economy. Worse still, if funding conditions also tighten and confidence is shaken, some banks could run into trouble, possibly triggering a financial crisis. MAS is determined that the financial system in Singapore remains robust and resilient. Our banks have built up strong capital and liquidity buffers, and are well-placed to weather these risks even as they continue to extend credit.