rise to 2 percent over the medium term. nonetheless, in considering future policy decisions, we will continue to carefully monitor actual and expected progress toward our inflation goal. of course, considerable uncertainty about the economic outlook remains. the latest readings on the labor market and the weak pace of investment illustrate one downside risk – that domestic demand might falter. in addition, although i am optimistic about the longer - run prospects for the u. s. economy, we cannot rule out the possibility expressed by some prominent economists that the slow productivity growth seen in recent years will continue into the future. vulnerabilities in the global economy also remain. although concerns about slowing growth in china and falling commodity prices appear to have eased from earlier this year, china continues to face considerable challenges as it rebalances its economy toward domestic demand and consumption and away from export - led growth. more generally, in the current environment of sluggish growth, low inflation, and already very accommodative monetary policy in many advanced economies, investor perceptions of and appetite for risk can change abruptly. one development that could shift investor sentiment is the upcoming referendum in the united kingdom. a u. k. vote to exit the european union could have significant economic repercussions. for all of these reasons, the committee is closely monitoring global economic and financial developments and their implications for domestic economic activity, labor markets, and inflation. monetary policy i will turn next to monetary policy. the fomc seeks to promote maximum employment and price stability, as mandated by the congress. given the economic situation i just described, monetary policy has remained accommodative over the first half of this year to support further improvement in the labor market and a return of inflation to our 2 percent objective. specifically, the fomc has maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 1 / 4 to 1 / 2 percent and has kept the federal reserve ’ s holdings of longer - term securities at an elevated level. the committee ’ s actions reflect a careful assessment of the appropriate setting for monetary policy, taking into account continuing below - target inflation and the mixed readings on the labor market and economic growth seen this year. proceeding cautiously in raising the federal funds rate will allow us to keep the monetary support to economic growth in place while we assess whether growth is returning to a moderate pace, whether the labor market will strengthen further, and whether inflation will continue to make progress toward our 2 percent objective. another factor that supports taking a cautious approach

we will not just learn to thrive in a digital world ; we will also learn digitally! and so, to promote the learning of skills under the new standard, besides the usual training programmes, ibf is developing learn @ ibf, a mobile learning app that will provide simple and concise information on these topics. you will get to see a preview of this app after this. i want to acknowledge our partners who helped to make this happen : amazon, facebook, ibm, luma and rainmaking innovation as well as our institutes of higher learning, training providers and of course, all of you, our financial institutions who are part of the ibf community. they provided and reviewed the content that will be posted on the app. 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches the next step is for financial institutions to work with their staff, particularly those in jobs undergoing transformation, to help them explore possible pathways and acquire the skills they need for the future. ultimately, whether we transform and succeed will depend on our finance professionals taking ownership of their own professional development. ibf will continue to introduce new platforms to help our finance professionals do just this. ibf has recently launched the myskills portfolio. this is an online tool which can be a useful resource for individuals to plan and manage their learning. myskills portfolio allows individuals to track their training progress and receive programme recommendations based on their training goals. it also functions as a repository of training records. most of all, ibf is about building a community. today we celebrate our latest cohort of ibf fellows and distinguished fellows. these individuals have contributed their time and expertise, not just on policy ideas, but also as speakers, trainers and mentors to our young finance professionals. all of you compete vigorously when it comes to business – and that is good. but together we have created something unique here in singapore ’ s financial sector : a shared vision for building up our capabilities ; working towards the greater good ; looking out for one another and bringing people along. and we must bring our people along. this is what will help ensure that our financial sector grows from strength to strength ; that we create good job opportunities for singaporeans ; that we build up skills and raise standards across the industry ; and that all those who work in the industry enjoy the fruits of growth. thank you once again for your strong support, and i wish everyone an enjoyable evening. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches