•  The industry will benefit from reduced connectivity costs and the greater convenience of reporting to a Singapore-based infrastructure. These developments not only align us with global regulatory reforms, they allow us to strengthen our role as a derivatives and risk management hub in Asia. Offshore RMB The third area of opportunity that plays to Singapore’s pan-Asian strength is offshore RMB business. The RMB’s role in facilitating intra-regional trade and investment will only grow in the coming years. Singapore is in a strong position to facilitate greater RMB-denominated trade and investment in the ASEAN region. We are deepening liquidity, establishing key infrastructure, and working with industry to expand the range of RMB products and services in Singapore. 6  BIS central bankers’ speeches  •  In February this year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s Singapore branch was designated Singapore’s RMB clearing bank. •  Just five days ago, MAS and the People’s Bank of China signed an enhanced bilateral currency swap agreement. This will enable MAS to provide RMB liquidity to banks in Singapore where needed. Deep talent pool The fourth and final pillar supporting Singapore’s financial centre is our deep talent pool. Over the years, we have invested heavily in building up the competencies of our financial sector workforce, providing training grants across a broad range of programmes under the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF). Perhaps the most important of these programmes is the Financial Industry Competency Standards (FICS), a structured competency framework that is job-specific and practice-oriented.

They provide confidence for financial institutions and customers to do business here. MAS pays close attention to the design of financial regulation to ensure that they are risk-based and not more burdensome than necessary to meet regulatory objectives. •  An example is the Financial Holding Companies (FHCs) Bill that is currently before Parliament. •  MAS will not regulate all FHCs. The Bill will give MAS the flexibility on whether or not to regulate a particular FHC, taking into consideration, for instance, whether the FHC’s subsidiaries are important to Singapore’s financial system. MAS consults the industry and other stakeholders when introducing significant new regulation. The exception of course is where the issue is market sensitive. We consult at an early stage on the broad policy proposals as well as in the later stages of detailed rule-making. We carefully consider all feedback on the impact of new regulation and implementation issues, and adjust the proposals where appropriate. This helps MAS to calibrate the rules in a way that is appropriate for our market. •  Take for example, the recent proposed changes to the regulatory capital framework for holders of capital markets services licenses. MAS briefed the industry, consulted extensively, and conducted quantitative impact studies. •  In response to feedback, MAS has decided to provide a longer transition period of two years for industry to comply with the new rules. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3  •  MAS will also revise its calibration of the operational risk capital charge.