##iayaan kepada perusahaan kecil dan sederhana. perasmian ini amat bermakna kerana yang amat berhormat perdana menteri merupakan peneraju kepada peningkatan sistem penyampaian sektor awam. yang amat berhormat dato'seri juga telah memainkan peranan penting dalam usaha meningkatkan potensi perusahaan kecil dan sederhana sebagai enjin pertumbuhan ekonomi negara kita. ladies and gentlemen, bank negara malaysia has always been in direct contact with the public. the central bank receives walk - in members of the public seeking information in relation to our operations, policies and regulations as well as those who seek redress on financial issues. the sme unit in bank negara malaysia also has direct contact with the smes relating to issues of access to financing. the establishment of bank negara malaysia link is to allow the interface with members of the public as well as the smes to be centralised and conducted in a more efficient and effective manner. the premises of the bank negara malaysia link was previously the kuala lumpur branch of bank negara malaysia. the kuala lumpur branch used to provide retail banking services to the government as part of our role as banker to the government. this role has now been transferred to banking institutions. it was also where currency was processed. this has also now been outsourced to meps currency management sdn. bhd. the branch premises is therefore now being transformed to a centralised service centre. ladies and gentlemen, bank negara malaysia link will also provide support to the bank's sme special unit in a number of areas associated with access to financing. the sme special unit was established within bank negara malaysia almost two years ago. initially, the functions of the sme special unit was to provide information on the various sources of financing available to the smes ; facilitate the loan application process ; and to provide advisory services relating to the financial requirements of smes. the role has subsequently been enhanced to monitor, coordinate and evaluate sme financing across all sectors, to review policies to enhance access to financing and coordinate the implementation of all sme financing policies. in addition, the sme special unit also acts as the secretariat to the small debt resolution committee, which facilitates

mohd razif bin abd kadir : reaping opportunities as financial advisers keynote address by mr mohd razif bin abd kadir, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the financial advisers seminar, kuala lumpur, 18 october 2008. * * * it is with great pleasure that i welcome all the participants to the seminar today, which is organised by bank negara malaysia, with the assistance from the malaysian financial planning council, the financial planning association of malaysia and the malaysian association of chartered financial consultants. in this regard, i would like to express my sincere appreciation to the three associations for their commitment and effort in facilitating and ensuring the success of the seminar, for the benefit of the financial planning industry. the chosen theme, “ reaping opportunities as financial advisers ”, is a fitting indication of the potentials and prospects as a financial adviser and i hope that this seminar would inspire you to achieve your full potential in a career in the financial services industry and for those not already in the industry to be aware of these opportunities. today ’ s dynamic environment is marked by a more competitive financial services industry, increasing access to financial services, broader range of financial products and services, and more complex financial transactions. in such an environment, the need and demand for sound financial planning will continue to increase. with the proliferation of financial products from basic risk protection to more sophisticated financial products for retirement and asset accumulation, it is important for consumers to have access to professional advice to help them work through the wide range of financial solutions which involve increasingly complex structures, and to avail themselves on solutions that will best suit their needs and capacity. for this purpose, bank negara malaysia has introduced the framework for the licensing of financial advisers in 2005 in response to the increasing demand from malaysian consumers for professional and specialised advisory services to meet their financial needs. the growing affluence and sophistication of consumers have created the demand for more complex financial products and services, specifically insurance products. the introduction of financial advisers, as a new distribution channel for the insurance and takaful industry, will complement the services of the existing professional intermediaries in the financial markets in providing holistic financial advisory services which range from insurance protection, savings for education, investments and retirement planning. in the long term, financial advisory business is only sustainable if its operations are transparent and focused on providing value added services rather than simply selling products. financial advisers must provide the highest service levels and professional standards in order to