ravi menon : building talent in the financial sector opening address by mr ravi menon, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the institute of banking & finance annual conference, singapore, 22 june 2011. * * * ms kate sweetman, fellow council members of the ibf, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. the financial crisis has triggered a fundamental shift in the global financial landscape. there has been much discussion globally on levelling up regulatory standards to meet the risks of an increasingly complex and inter - connected financial services sector. but there has been less discussion on the competencies that need to be levelled up in financial services – competencies in risk management, corporate governance, and financial supervision. only if competency standards are raised, will the ongoing financial regulatory efforts bear fruit. since its inception, the institute of banking and finance ( ibf ) has been playing a critical role in raising the standards of the financial sector in singapore. today, this has become more relevant than ever. let me give an update of ibf ’ s efforts. in 2005, ibf launched the financial industry competency standards ( or “ fics ” ). this is a set of competency standards developed by the industry, for the industry. it provides a practice - oriented approach and a clear roadmap for people working in the financial sector to attain the competencies they need to do their jobs. fics has taken off quite well. as at end - 2010, some 360 training / assessment programmes have been accredited under the fics framework. in total, more than 6, 000 individuals have been trained under fics, with about 2, 600 of them assessed. we now have more than 300 individuals certified under fics. every craft has its master craftsmen. the financial industry is no different. to this end, ibf introduced the distinguished financial industry certified professional, or ficp. the distinguished ficp represents the highest certification standard under fics : it is bestowed on those in the industry who are the epitome of professional stature, integrity, and achievement. ibf is proud to have added another 15 senior industry veterans to its cadre of distinguished ficps in october last year. over the years, we have developed a growing network of fics - certified professionals. this is an invaluable resource : a community of professionals whom we can actively tap upon as partners in our learning journey – participating at industry events or in fics working groups. it has been about five years since

heng swee keat : advances in risk management – theory and practice opening address by mr heng swee keat, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the symposium to mark the opening of rmi ’ s new facilities, singapore, 2 october 2009. * * * prof tan chorh chuan prof tan eng chye prof duan jin - chuan distinguished speakers, guests, ladies and gentlemen good morning introduction it gives me great pleasure to join you today at the symposium which marks the opening of risk management institute ’ s ( rmi ) new facilities. rmi is singapore ’ s first full - fledged research centre dedicated to risk management. rmi was set up three years ago. the timing could not have been more appropriate. given the spotlight in the current financial crisis on risk management, the shift of economic weight to asia, and nus ’ standing as a global university in the heart of asia, rmi has a major opportunity to play a prominent role in research and education on this critical topic. emerging from the current crisis in recent weeks, confidence has returned to financial markets. more recent forecasts for global economic growth have been revised upwards, including that for asia. there is palpable relief that the global economy has avoided the abyss. but some players seem to have forgotten that we have just gone through the worst financial crisis since the post - war period. the clean - up of the wreckages will take time. for example, the international monetary fund ( imf ) recently revised its estimate of the write - downs on expected losses by financial institutions on bad assets to $ 3. 4 trillion. 1 the scale of these losses remains significant. further, several weakness in the global economy continue to present risks to the sustainability of the recovery. these include the continued deleveraging by banks and households, rising unemployment, weak fiscal positions in certain economies, and a reduced buffer for further decisive intervention. in addition, with the revival in investor confidence and generally conducive global liquidity conditions, authorities have been keeping a close watch on the asset markets. in singapore, mas recently decided to disallow the interest absorption scheme and interest - only housing loans for private residential property lending. we will closely monitor developments in the property market and the broader economy. our upcoming monetary policy review in october will continue to focus on mas ’ objective of maintaining overall price stability for the mediumterm. in this climate of relief and confidence, it is also easy to lose the