zeti akhtar aziz : developing a robust competency framework for the malaysian banking industry opening speech by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the industry competency framework study focus group discussion, kuala lumpur, 6 december 2005. * * * saya berasa amat bangga kerana diberi peluang untuk menyampaikan sepatah dua kata dan seterusnya merasmikan sesi wacana institut bank - bank malaysia. saya ingin mengucapkan terima kasih atas penyertaan anda dalam temu ramah eksekutif yang merupakan input yang amat bernilai dalam pembentukan rangka kerja kompetensi industri yang akan dibincangkan hari ini. the banking sector will remain the pillar of our financial system, as it evolves to offer more innovative financial solutions to meet the changing needs of the economy. the industry however, needs to be well positioned in a financial landscape that is continuously being redefined. while new opportunities have emerged, there are also new challenges on the horizon. foremost amongst these is intensified competitive pressures, spurred by financial liberalisation and technological revolution. other challenges include the growing demands of customers for differentiated product offerings and valueadded services at more competitive prices, excellent service quality, and superior level of efficiency. strategic opportunities also arise from new growth areas and a larger marketplace as economic integration regionally and globally gather pace, driven by increasing regional and global trades and investment flows. banking institutions must be ready for the challenges and be well equipped with distinct capabilities to take advantage of the opportunities that the new environment accords. banking is a knowledge - intensive, skills - based and relationship - rich industry. in an increasingly complex and a more liberalised environment, the competitiveness of banking institutions will depend critically on the quality of human intellectual capital and the extent to which the industry is able to leverage on these talents. to compete effectively, banking institutions need professionals with the requisite skills and expertise not only at the strategic and management level, but also at the technical and operational level. successful institutions will be the ones which accord high priority to effective placements, rewards, retention and most importantly, lifelong learning and the continuous enhancement of human capital. lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important in this knowledge - based economy where knowledge and skills need to be

to antoine martin, who will address the global economic outlook. global economic outlook global economic growth was moderate in the third quarter of 2024. economic activity remained solid in the us, while in the euro area it improved only slightly. growth in the chinese economy was rather modest by longer - term comparison. the services sector continued to contribute positively to economic activity worldwide. by contrast, momentum in large parts of manufacturing remained subdued. recently, inflation in many countries was again close to central banks ’ targets. this was due, among other things, to lower energy prices. however, core inflation remained elevated. in page 2 / 4 anticipation of a continued decline in inflation, various central banks cut their policy rates further this quarter. underlying inflationary pressure abroad is likely to carry on easing gradually over the next quarters. at the same time, the pace of global growth should remain moderate. household purchasing power should continue to recover and, together with the monetary policy easing, support growth. uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased in recent months. in particular, the future course of economic policy in the us is still uncertain, and political uncertainty has also risen in europe. in addition, geopolitical tensions could result in weaker development of global economic activity. equally, it cannot be ruled out that inflation could remain higher than expected in some countries. this brings us to the situation in switzerland, which petra tschudin will present. swiss economic outlook as expected, gdp growth in switzerland was only modest in the third quarter of 2024. growth in the services sector was again somewhat stronger, while value added in manufacturing declined. there was a further slight increase in unemployment, and employment growth was only subdued. the utilisation of overall production capacity was normal. we anticipate gdp growth of around 1 % for the current year. thanks also to the easing of monetary policy in recent quarters, growth should pick up somewhat next year, albeit only slightly due to the moderate global economic activity. we currently expect growth of between 1 % and 1. 5 % for 2025. in this environment, unemployment should continue to rise slightly, while the utilisation of production capacity is likely to decline somewhat. our forecast for switzerland, as for the global economy, is subject to significant uncertainty. developments abroad represent the main risk. i will now hand back to martin schlegel. monetary policy outlook ladies and gentlemen, allow me to return to our monetary policy. at our september assessment, we had already indicated that further monetary policy easing