million. us $ 42. 7 trillion as at end 2010 as compared to us $ 26. 2 trillion as at end 2001 – ml - capgemini world wealth reports. bis central bankers ’ speeches this growing pool of wealth and put it to productive use. and singapore has a compelling value proposition in helping to make this happen. what makes singapore attractive as an international financial and wealth management centre? wealth desires stability. singapore ’ s political and economic stability, transparency in governance, and sound and predictable regulation, are often cited by private bankers and clients alike as the fundamentals underpinning its attraction. efficiency, connectivity, and sound infrastructure are added advantages. singapore has been ranked by the world bank, for the sixth year running, as the easiest place to do business in the world. perhaps the decisive advantage is the larger financial eco - system that exists in singapore. strong capabilities in asset management, foreign exchange and derivatives trading, coupled with deep and liquid capital markets – these are the ingredients that make singapore the ideal base for the intermediation of wealth in asia. but to use a common phrase in the industry, past trends are no guarantee of future performance. whether singapore continues to do well in wealth management will depend critically on three imperatives. first, we must raise competencies in the industry. second, we must enhance market conduct. third, we must keep the financial sector clean. strong competencies let me begin with raising competencies. the wealth management industry in asia is facing a shortage of talent. private banks are rapidly expanding to meet the needs of a growing affluent class. if singapore is to sustain its growth as a wealth management centre, there is an urgent need to raise competency levels in the industry and to build a strong pipeline of talent. we need qualified professionals to fill not just front office jobs like relationship management and investment advice but also mid to back office functions in risk management and compliance. there are two reasons why we cannot be complacent. one, the markets have changed. average investment returns are likely to be lower over the next decade than they were in the last, as the developed economies deleverage and global demand rebalances. the wealth manager can no longer sit back and let a buoyant market do the job. he needs to chart clear strategies and manage his clients ’ portfolios amidst a more uncertain and volatile environment. two, the clientele has changed. post - lehman, the client is more cautious and less trusting. he wants better service

attach importance to supporting technological innovations, including via the potential development of more efficient regulation or “ regtechs ”, as long as they go hand in hand with low operational risks and high transaction safety. third, economic services : payments are the nexus where a new ecosystem based on technological innovation and entrepreneurship is blooming. these developments are for the benefit of the real economy – and more particularly the corporate sector – in france and in europe : a myriad of so called “ fintechs ” are now emerging. they are competing with incumbents, notably in the united states, and are proposing not only new ways of paying but also new services related to payments ( such as account aggregation ). so there are high industrial stakes involved, and we must foster active competition, which is far preferable to monopolies, even technological ones. given the importance of payments in many aspects of our economy, we need a comprehensive 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches strategy. most importantly, innovation should be spurred, whether it comes from start - ups or incumbents. this is exactly the purpose of the french national strategy for retail payments – consistent with the european framework. this french strategy was developed last year through a cooperative process : it aims at modernizing payments, by relying on the dematerialization of processes in different fields, such as e - invoicing, e - mandates for sepa direct debits, virtual wallets, etc. the implementation of this strategy has been entrusted to the national committee for payments ( cnps ), your co - host for this conference, which gathers representatives from both the supply and the demand side and is chaired by the banque de france. going beyond the sole payments sphere, innovation in the financial sector can generate significant benefits that have to be reaped. it has the potential to foster financial inclusion all over the world, as long as people are provided with internet access. it also prompts incumbents to adapt, pushing them to develop new business models and new activities that ultimately benefit the customers. in this regard, let me highlight the initiatives to develop instant payments in the sepa area, to facilitate market - based funding and equity financing in the european union. i would like also to mention that the banque de france is conducting its own experiments, with the recent creation of a lab and the appointment a chief digital officer, thierry bedoin, who will moderate the first panel of this afternoon ’ s session. 2. technological innovation is to be welcomed