banking industry. bis central bankers ’ speeches we have high hopes that in the next 5 years, abs will distinguish itself in the quality of its programs, developing a particular strength in delivering integrative and practice - oriented education and learning in banking and business that combine intellectual know - how with practical applications. in an increasingly interconnected world, our workforce must be empowered with the right knowledge, the tools, the skills and the mind - set to deliver worldclass performance. the value proposition of abs in adopting contemporary approach to business and banking education that equip students for the real world will be demanded as any expertise in a particular discipline. ultimately, the aim is to integrate the multidisciplinary nature of the banking industry with modern management and professionalism, in turn developing talents with abilities to combine traditional disciplines as they tackle the challenges of uncertainty and complexity. a monumental task is upon abs. its challenging and exciting. but i have every confidence that collectively, the combined effort of aicb and abs together with the industry would transform the landscape of the malaysian banking workforce in the coming years into one which is highly skilled and highly qualified. this brings me to the second strategy toward sustaining the competitiveness of talents for the banking sector, which relates to the imperative to increase state of readiness for graduates at entry - level into employability, to bridge gaps and allow for a smooth transfer of academic skills to the work environment. what we should strive towards is a more structured and coordinated approach to training that reduces time to competence for graduates. we need to consider a framework for structured industry - wide internship or apprenticeship programs for new entrants to the industry. the structured internship program for the accounting fraternity can perhaps be a good reference point for the banking sector to consider and emulate. abs can lead the pack in this initiative by playing a bigger role in the review of fstep by making it more relevant and forward working to industry requirements. to achieve these objectives we need to collaborate and work collectively as an industry to work more closely and in partnership with abs and aicb. clearly, there is scope for stronger collaboration in workforce development that delivers high value proposition between the banking institutions and the industry ’ s talent development entities. strong support and inputs from the banking institutions to systematically analyse skills requirements and training needs of their talents on an on - going basis is much needed and should serve as important feedback mechanism for abs so that academic curriculum is tuned to the changing needs of the industry. in closing, i would like

a few questions come to mind. first, what is the appropriate role for regulators when it comes to digital innovation in payments? second, should regulators be proactive in leading the agenda of change or keep an active watching brief and intervene only 2 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches when necessary? third, how do we balance between oversight and developmental objectives? and the fourth, what are the right set of guiding principles? i would like to turn to these questions for the second half of my speech. importantly, i believe that regulators have to play a driving role to foster an enabling environment for an efficient and vibrant payment landscape, whilst actively managing the associated risks. innovation should be industryled. regulators should instead focus on building the right preconditions for the payment systems to develop in a resilient and progressive manner. in this regard, i would like to share four key focus areas for the payments regulatory agenda moving forward : first, to preserve trust to safeguard the resilience and integrity of payment systems ; second, to apply proportionate regulation to effectively manage risk, whilst not stifling innovation ; third, to enable connectivity through collaboration towards greater standardisation and interoperability ; and fourth, to promote efficiency and innovation through greater competition. preserving trust let me start with the first focus area of preserving trust. trust is at the heart of any effective payment system. consumers, businesses and governments must be able to trust that a payment made is final, that it reaches the intended beneficiary, and that the value transferred is accurate. without these elements, a payment system or service cannot serve its purpose. to that end, regulations must seek to ensure that payment systems are secure, reliable and resilient. given the increasingly unpredictable sources of risk, regulatory initiatives would benefit from an ‘ assumed - breach ’ philosophy. systemically important payment systems must be set up to be able to withstand disruption. this would entail requiring adequate financial buffers and robust business continuity arrangements to preserve the continuity of key payment services under stressed conditions. with increasing digitalisation, cybersecurity incidences have the potential to not only cause significant business disruptions and monetary losses, but also undermine the trust and confidence in the global financial system. due to the interconnectedness of the global economy, cyber resilience is only as good as the strength of the weakest link. it is important therefore for regulators to formulate and promote the adoption of holistic cybersecurity strategies that are constantly enhanced.