the return on investment. the pursuit of such a shortterm objective goes against the basic tenets of sustainable development which aims at assessing the impact of today ’ s decision making on the future generations. where are the global banks of 80s and 90s today? some of the large ones which survived are now facing reputational risk with questions being raised by investors and regulators on money laundering and absence of governance culture. one of the main reasons for this kind of behaviour is that investors can maximise financial return on their investment and may not directly be exposed to the consequences of their actions on the society or environment as a whole. insider trading and colluding with corporate customers for short term profits on treasuries have down - sized many large financial conglomerates when the regulators catch up with their pace. for example, investors in petroleum companies can gain attractive shortterm returns from high oil prices. however, carbon emissions will have an impact on the longterm health of the economy as well as the environment. but what about the role of the large merchant bankers and financial institutions who invested in these companies? 37. secondly, the indifference towards environment by the financial sector arises for two main reasons. first, as we have seen, it is only interested in the maximisation of financial profits through high turnover and does not have a real concern in the quality of its investments but so long as they are profitable investments. this means that there is no ethical consideration of investments, or no consideration of “ bad ” externalities in the calculation of financial profits. further, accounting and reporting systems do not adequately convey potential environmental risks and therefore, financial markets are compelled to make decisions on exposures based on biased information. 38. thirdly, though financial markets are supposed to help to manage risks and deal with uncertainty, it is also true that higher turnover and enlarging risks leads to higher profits. as a result, one may get attracted to short - term financial profits irrespective of the risks associated with it and its effects on the real economy and society can be completely ignored ; for instance, in terms of job loss, company closures or systemic problems to the whole bis central bankers ’ speeches economy like what happened after global financial crisis. therefore unlike corporates, the financial sector is more prone to take higher risks. 39. fourthly, this sector is characterised by a great deal of sophistication and specialisation and tests the players ’ abilities for making investment decisions in a very short time in a

vision to become a developed economy. this design thinking for the industry necessitates the banking sector to further enhance its dynamism in the face of competition for innovation and quality in the offering of financial products and services. it also demands greater agility, astuteness and foresight on our part to go beyond and able to ride on the next wave of growth – either at the higher end of the spectrum of financial services that focus on sophisticated and high value added activities or the lower end that cater for the traditionally underserved, as well as opportunity to fully realise the benefits from the greater regional and international integration. at the same time, a myriad of challenges including global regulatory reform, transformational technology and changing generational expectations will continue to drive change in the years to come. this would also mean that financial institutions will need to meet higher standards of how they manage risks and govern their operations. against this background, the professionalism, productivity and capability of our talents become more important now than ever before. future success will hinge on our ability to constantly remould the workforce in the banking industry for a new marketplace, with emphasis on a corresponding increase in the levels of knowledge, skills, competencies and bis central bankers ’ speeches overall quality of our talents. we clearly have an urgent and important task ahead of us. the critical questions therefore need to be asked here – have we done enough to sustain the competitiveness of our workforce to meet the current and future industry needs and what more can be done to propel the industry to new heights? with these questions in mind, allow me to now share two strategies in the context of human capital development that, to my mind, are key catalysts toward a new era of development of the banking sector, as well as the broader financial services industry, with a particular focus on our aspiration with regard to the role of abs towards the attainment of these strategies. first, is the strategic imperative toward professionalising the banking profession to create a banking workforce committed to highest standards of professional conduct, knowledge and competence. our motivation in pursuing this imperative is many - pronged – firstly, the move to professionalize the industry, to be achieved via the development of professional qualifications and specialised certification track, that can play a vital role in ensuring that the banking workforce consistently achieves high levels of capability through continuing professional development ( cpd ) and learning. secondly, by adhering to professional standards, professional conduct and cpd requirements of professional bodies, a