s opening of dbs asia central, dbs is now one of the largest tenants in the mbfc. 11. as one of the largest employers in singapore ’ s financial services industry with a headcount of over 8000 staff, dbs also has an important role to play in nurturing and developing talent. the current mbfc location has allowed dbs to introduce a number of initiatives, including its multi - market, multi - year strategic occupancy programme, which aims to consolidate relevant teams under one roof to facilitate greater efficiency and productivity, enabling the bank to be even more responsive to customer ’ s needs. i also understand that dbs ’ new hq is designed to foster a strong sense of community and collaboration amongst dbs ’ staff. there are spacious social hubs on each floor connecting the workstations and meeting areas to encourage staff interaction, and all staff get to enjoy 180 degree view of the marina bay area ( not just senior managers ). importantly, such innovative spatial design is complemented by responsive workplace programmes such as flexi - work hours to promote work - life balance for dbs ’ staff. closing remarks 12. let me again extend my heartiest congratulations to dbs bank on the opening of your new headquarters. i wish dbs bank success as you continue to play an active role in the local and asian banking scene. bis central bankers ’ speeches

ong chong tee : the future of banking - evolution, revolution or a big bang introductory remarks by mr ong chong tee, deputy managing director ( financial supervision ) of the monetary authority of singapore, at the german - singaporean financial forum, singapore, 16 april 2018. * * * dr johannes beermann, member of the executive board of the deutsche bundesbank his excellency dr ulrich sante, ambassador of the federal republic of germany dr claus trenner, president of the singaporean - german chamber of industry and commerce distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen it is my pleasure to join you this morning at the inaugural german - singaporean financial forum. bilateral relations singapore and germany have strong bilateral relations at many levels. ( a ) last year, chancellor angela merkel and prime minister lee hsien loong met in berlin in july, and later, president halimah yacob hosted president frank - walter steinmeier during his state visit in november. ( b ) singapore was also invited to the g20 meetings in 2017 during germany ’ s presidency. the close partnerships at both government and business levels underscore the many common values and strategic interests that we share. for example, in the area of financial services, there is strong emphasis on financial institutions having high standards of conduct and prudence given the importance of savings and investment in our societies. mas and our german counterparts, the bundesbank and bafin1, participate in many international forums and standard - setting bodies including the financial stability board, the basel committee on banking supervision, the international association of insurance supervisors, and the international organisation of securities commission. on many issues, we share common interests and positions. in 2010, mas and bundesbank established a cross - border collateral arrangement to enhance liquidity provision by widening the pool of eligible collateral for banks. mas has a supervisory memorandum of understanding ( mou ) with bafin that provides for mutual assistance and sharing of supervisory information in banking and insurance. mas also participates in the annual deutsche bank supervisory college for non - eu regulators and we are pleased to have hosted the most recent one last november. given that financial activities are often cross - border in nature, such international co - operation will be of increasing importance, including to facilitate innovative services as well as to mitigate the risks that some these may present. it is also in this spirit that i congratulate the establishment of this partnership forum. it is an excellent example of a co - operation platform that allows our