encik adnan zaylani mohamad zahid : welcoming remarks - islamic finance rendezvous series welcoming remarks by mr encik adnan zaylani mohamad zahid, assistant governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the islamic finance rendezvous series, bayan lepas, 14 january 2019. * * * it is a pleasure to be here this morning. on behalf of bank negara malaysia, i would like to express our appreciation to the state government of penang for hosting this inaugural islamic finance rendezvous series ; and to the chief minister of penang, yab tuan chow kon yeow and yb dato ’ haji abdul halim bin haji hussain for gracing this event. i would also like to welcome the businessmen and entrepreneurs joining us this morning. a recent survey we did revealed that almost 60 % of smes were not aware of the availability of islamic business financing facilities. indeed, most smes adopted conventional financing. some may still have the misconception that islamic finance is only for muslims. today, we hope to dispel this and create more awareness about what islamic finance is and has to offer. we have assembled a number of industry experts and leaders for this, and i would like to extend our thanks to the association of islamic banking and financial institutions malaysia ( aibim ), the malaysian takaful association ( mta ) and other partners for your support and commitment to organise this programme. islamic finance has evolved from a niche market into the mainstream allow me to give an overview of where we are in islamic finance. islamic finance is an established industry in malaysia. islamic banking assets stood at rm874 billion or 30. 4 % of total banking assets as at end september last year, with an annual growth of 10 % over the past three decades. the end of q3 last year also saw takaful contributions amounting to rm1. 7 billion with market penetration at 15 %. growth of islamic finance in malaysia has been resilient and supportive of social and economic developments. what underlies this growth is the robust foundation and building blocks that the government and bank negara malaysia, together with the industry, have worked towards, namely in infrastructure development, institution building, robust regulatory framework and product development. we are now at a stage where we view that the foundations are solid and the industry is ready to deliver solutions to meet your needs. islamic finance as an enabler of growth there is now

muhammad bin ibrahim : the challenges of corporate governance in the financial services sector keynote address by mr muhammad bin ibrahim, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the university malaya ’ s ( in collaboration with the asian institute of chartered bankers and the international centre for education in islamic finance ) workshop on “ the challenges of corporate governance in the financial services sector ”, kuala lumpur, 6 august 2014. * * * it is my pleasure to be at this workshop on the theme of “ challenges of corporate governance in the financial sector ”. i would like to congratulate the university of malaya, the asian institute of chartered bankers and the international centre for education in islamic finance for the joint effort to organise this event. i am also encouraged to see speakers from the world of academia, the financial industry and the public sector congregate to offer different perspectives on this important topic. my remarks today will touch on recent issues relating to corporate governance standards with particular emphasis on the financial sector. the growing emphasis on good governance the motivation for strengthening corporate governance in the financial sector is well - established. unlike other industries, the financial sector plays an important intermediary role that relies heavily on public trust and confidence. being highly visible entities, any lapse or failure in the governance of financial institutions, whether real or perceived, would attract adverse public reaction and could severely affect their reputation and public confidence. the failure of a systematically important financial institution may also result in serious ramifications and costs to the economy, given their roles and inter - linkages within a country ’ s economy. for this reason, especially in the conduct its business operations, financial institutions are subjected to a higher standard of integrity and professionalism. in recognition of this, statutory responsibility is entrusted to the board and senior management to steer the institution and to safeguard its safety, integrity and reputation at all times. as public interest entities, actions by financial institutions have far reaching implications for a wide range of stakeholders. modernising corporate governance for the banking sector and the insurance industry has been a major focus for bank negara malaysia following the asian financial crisis in 1997. in the years since then, various regulatory reforms have been implemented to strengthen board practices, roles and responsibilities. these reforms include requiring the establishment of board committees, enhancing the independence of the board, expanding transparency and raising disclosure requirements. we also commissioned a study on board remuneration with the aim to improve board remuneration packages and as a way to retain and attract