Within Kuwait, we also engage closely with different government institutions such as the Capital Markets Authority, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority. And finally, the CBK is focused on continuous capacity building to ensure the development and sustainability of our team and to provide technical support to the industry. Through the Kuwait Institute of Banking Studies (KIBS), we are supporting sophisticated programs tailored for specific areas of focus to equip our teams as well as the banking industry with the latest tools and know-how. KIBS is playing a critical role in promoting capacity building in Kuwait, having provided training to over 4,700 banking staff in the last year alone. I am delighted to announce the launch of the “Kafaa” initiative, in collaboration with the Kuwait Institute of Banking Studies and Kuwaiti banks. Kafaa provides advanced  Central Bank of Kuwait - Public ‫ عام‬- ‫بنك الكويت المركزي‬  - 18 -  programs to financial sector employees including post graduate studies, cybersecurity, risk management, Shariah audit, etc. In addition, we are proud that Kuwait hosts and sponsors the IMF’s Middle East Centre for Economic and Finance (CEF), that provides training for candidates from across the Arab world. Last year, 1,477 candidates benefited from programs run by the Centre, at a total cost of $ million. With the support of enabling institutions such as educators and regulators, the banking industry can transform itself for the future and play its rightful role in supporting inclusive, sustainable prosperity.

As the banking industry goes through a radical transition, banks will need to widen their talent pools and attract  Central Bank of Kuwait - Public ‫ عام‬- ‫بنك الكويت المركزي‬  - 13 -  a broader range of skills, in line with their shifting business models and changing customers’ preferences. Staff at banks of the future will no longer be limited to mostly finance professionals. Instead, the role of data scientists, visual designers, digital marketing and media experts, software developers and customer experience professionals will become more significant. Banks might even need to recruit psychologists, philosophy majors and other professionals with diversified skills that can bring in new perspectives. These people will be very different from traditional bank recruits, with different expectations for their roles, work environments and contributions. And banks will be in direct competition with technology firms, leading corporates and start-ups to hire them. Banks will need to overhaul their entire process around acquiring, managing, deploying and retaining talent. Like technology companies, they will need to invest in their talent pools to leverage their expertise and creativity. They will also need to transform their corporate culture into one which promotes agility, collaboration and responsible risk-taking when it comes to delivery of solutions. The banking industry needs to succeed on all of these battle fronts: customer loyalty, value, efficiency, resilience and talent. Failure to win on any front could have dire consequences, regardless of a bank’s size or market share.