ravi menon : future of finance jobs opening remarks by mr ravi menon, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, and chairman of the institute of banking and finance, at the launch of the study on future of finance jobs, singapore, 23 april 2019. * * * mrs josephine teo, minister for manpower, members of the ibf council, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to ibf. ibf will be turning 45 this year. it is hard to imagine the financial sector today without the ibf. not all countries have the equivalent of an ibf. fewer still have as strong a collaboration as we do here in ibf – among financial institutions and between financial institutions and the regulator. and all for a common cause that has been consistent for the last 45 years – to equip the professionals in our financial sector to do their jobs better, and to make the singapore financial centre more competitive ibf began life in much simpler times. its primary aim in the 1970s through the 1990s was to provide training for the financial sector professionals. in the 2000s, ibf shifted its focus to setting competency standards and facilitating skills development for the industry. looking to the future, the jobs and skills landscape in the financial industry is a lot more complex and uncertain. technology is transforming finance – the way financial services are produced, distributed, and consumed. this means that jobs in financial services will also be transformed. we need to take a more sophisticated, integrated, and purposeful approach to prepare our workforce for the future of jobs. this is why mas and ibf commissioned ernst & young to study the impact of data analytics and automation – the two most immediate technologies – on jobs in the financial sector. the study takes a three to five year time horizon. it reviewed 121 distinct job roles in the financial industry, examining how data analytics and automation are likely to change the individual tasks in these 121 job roles. it identified the additional skills that would be necessary to perform these new tasks. the study took nine months to complete and the findings have been validated extensively with more than 80 industry participants. many of you here contributed to this study. you will be hearing from ernst & young later on the study findings, and minister teo will speak more on this, including how the industry, the labour movement, and government are coming together to put into action the key strategies emerging from the study. i want to make three key points that i think are worth keeping in mind : 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

there is not even enough to repay its depositors. even then the draw on the guarantee should only be for the shortfall, which should be a fraction of the deposits outstanding. hence we have calculated that the s $ 150 billion backing is an amount that will be ample to meet any eventuality except the most remote. s $ 150 billion does not in any way reflect an estimate of the likely draw over the two years of the guarantee. on the contrary, we expect the actual draw to be small or if we are fortunate even zero. instead, the s $ 150 billion reflects the government ’ s confidence in the banking system, and its intention to give all depositors that same confidence. singapore is in a good financial position to provide this guarantee because of the fiscal discipline of successive governments. we are in a strong fiscal position, having accumulated surpluses during good times for exigencies like this. in contemplating making this guarantee, the government has carefully assessed that it is well within our means, does not impair our ability to meet all government obligations and will not jeopardise singapore ’ s financial standing. we are using our reserves to back this guarantee. in the event of a payout, past reserves may be drawn upon. the minister for finance has sought and obtained the president ’ s concurrence to issue the guarantee, as required by the constitution because of the president ’ s role in safeguarding our reserves. i should also make clear that this guarantee does not impact at all on mas ’ ability to defend the singapore dollar. that is because even after giving this guarantee, the government still has ample means, with the full backing of our not insignificant reserves, to safeguard our currency if this should prove necessary. to prevent financial institutions abusing the guarantee by expanding aggressively and taking on excessive risks, mas has emphasised to financial institutions in singapore the need to remain prudent in this current operating environment. mas will continue to supervise financial institutions in singapore closely. it will take the necessary actions to see to it that they operate in a sound manner, and do not put at risk the stability of our financial system or the government ’ s reserves. conclusion let me reiterate that singapore ’ s financial system remains sound and we are well - placed to meet the challenges facing us. this global crisis is unprecedented, and requires singapore to respond effectively, decisively but also prudently. the provision of a government guarantee on deposits is a necessary temporary measure to protect the interests of singapore