muhammad bin ibrahim : the money services business industry in malaysia keynote address by mr muhammad bin ibrahim, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the malaysian association of money services business ( msb ) annual dinner 2015, kuala lumpur, 25 april 2015. * * * terima kasih kerana menjemput saya pada malam ini untuk bersama meraikan majlis makan malam persatuan perniagaan perkhidmatan wang malaysia yang diadakan buat julung kalinya. saya amat berbesar hati dengan kehadiran tuan - tuan dan puan - puan sekalian yang mewakili hampir keseluruhan penggiat industri pada malam yang bermakna ini. ia jelas menunjukkan sokongan padu dan komitmen daripada saudara dan saudari untuk terus merealisasikan aspirasi untuk membina sebuah industri yang moden, progresif dan berdaya saing. i feel only a short time ago that i had officiated the official launch of the association. since then the industry has made significant progress on many fronts. standards have been raised, business conduct modernised and the structure of the industry has changed significantly. in many ways the achievements by the industry had exceeded our expectations. i would like to believe that the regulatory reform instituted over the last few years was the catalyst that had transformed the money services business industry. we have seen very encouraging results. but these transformations would not be possible without the vision and shared commitments provided by the association and the industry players. as a collective effort, the regulator and the industry had instituted various measures to establish new norms and values that were designed to enhance the integrity and professionalism of the industry. the measures that were prescribed made good business sense. an industry that inspires confidence, trusts and exudes high degree of professionalism would instil credence among the general public, a prized virtue that would expand business opportunities. from the regulator perspectives, a highly organised and disciplined money services business industry will easily withstand the higher level of scrutiny of regulatory requirements by both domestic and international bodies. i would like to commend the association in the strong leadership it has demonstrated in leading a number of key initiatives

the success of an islamic finance system depends critically on having the right set of quality talent. this is more so as we aspire for islamic finance to reach greater heights, in this new normal of rapid advances in technology and changing demographics. accordingly, malaysia has made significant investments in developing a complete ecosystem dedicated to meeting the human capital needs of the islamic finance industry. our talent infrastructure caters to every level, for both academic and professional needs. dedicated talent entities for islamic finance have also been set up, such as inceif – a global university for islamic finance – and isra, a globally recognised institution in enriching research and knowledge on shariah. an important aspect of talent development is elevating the quality and professionalism of talents in islamic finance – not just in malaysia, but globally. in realising this vision, the chartered institute of islamic finance professionals was set up to promote the highest standards of professional practice among islamic finance practitioners. this is complemented by the establishment of the association of shariah advisors in islamic finance to enhance the qualification and professionalism of the shariah fraternity. two specialised certifications will be launched by the association early next month which aim to strengthen technical and ethical rigour of shariah advisors and practitioners. with an increasing range of options for professional qualifications for islamic finance, the finance accreditation agency ’ s islamic finance professional qualification structure – to be launched today – is a timely and much welcome milestone. as a learning reference structure, it streamlines and classifies the levels for islamic finance professional learning programmes. for islamic finance professionals and the organisations they represent, this will help them make better informed decisions when evaluating the suitability of the wide array of professional learning programmes on offer globally. i hope that today ’ s event would help bring you a step closer to realising your respective organisation ’ s goals in islamic finance. with that, i wish you a productive afternoon. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches