heng swee keat : talent management strategies in singapore opening address by mr heng swee keat, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore and chairman of the institute of banking & finance ( ibf ), at the 2nd ibf annual conference, singapore, 20 june 2008. * * * welcome to the 2008 ibf annual conference which is held in conjunction with our 33rd annual general meeting. when we held our last agm and annual conference in may last year, the mood among global financial institutions was buoyant. the outlook for the global economy and financial markets was positive. the main concern among firms was the severe shortage of staff. today, the mood is cautious. the credit crisis is still working its way through, inflation has become a major concern everywhere, and economic prospects are more uncertain. in asia, investors and economists remain cautiously optimistic about the growth prospects of the economies. while financial institutions had limited exposures to sub - prime assets and related credit derivatives, financial markets in asia are not isolated from global markets. we are seeing a similar rise of risk aversion and tightening of credit conditions. the situation in the coming months will remain fluid and we must remain vigilant. talent management – a strategic imperative the developments in global financial markets in the last one year have important implications on human resources strategy. for instance, among the many findings in the report released by the senior supervisors group is that firms which weathered the recent crisis better have senior management members who have expertise in a range of risks. this underscores the need to attract and develop talent not only in the frontline, but across critical functions and at various levels of the organisation. financial institutions planning to expand must treat talent development as a strategic priority, and such development has to be undertaken in a holistic way, across the entire organisation. but this is not an easy task. there is a chinese saying that it takes ten years to grow a tree, and a hundred years to develop an individual. talent development requires consistent focus and commitment, from leaders at all levels of the organization. the efforts need to be sustained over many years, through good times and difficult times. the demographic changes in asia coupled with rapid growth in the economies will make this task even more challenging in the coming years. building a world class financial sector workforce ibf is committed to working with the industry to drive the development of talent in the financial sector. let me now turn to some of the key initiatives undertaken in the last twelve

##d fiji has accomplished in its short life in our country. in just 12 months of operations, the company has been able to provide some form of financial service to almost 3, 000 women. the range of activities, in which the entrepreneurs are involved, signifies how innovative women are in ensuring a sustained livelihood for themselves and their families. spbd fiji clients have saved about $ 300, 000 and have taken out $ 2. 3 million as loans to start or expand a small business. it is also pleasing to note that spbd has maintained an excellent repayment rate of no less than 97 percent. this is a tremendous outcome and it speaks volumes for the company ’ s policies and procedures and relationships with the lady clients. ladies and gentlemen, today, we shall also witness a showcase of how entrepreneurship development through microfinance has changed the lives of women. i congratulate the finalists of the spbd businesswoman of the year awards, for serving as living inspiration to all the ladies here. to all you businesswomen, i salute you for taking that extra step to improve your lives and the lives of your loved ones. i understand spbd has partnered with other institutions in providing better services to its clients. an example is its partnership with westpac in the provision of financial literacy sessions in the villages. recently, spbd has partnered with the life insurance corporation of india to provide microinsurance coverage for its members at very affordable cost and with simple, easily understood procedures. very soon, spbd clients will also be able to repay their loans and build their savings through vodaphone ’ s mpaisa mobile phone payment system. spbd has been working tirelessly to ensure that its clients are getting the best services available. in the coming years, we look forward to spbd expanding its services not only across the whole island of viti levu, but also to the other islands, including vanua levu and even the smaller islands. i understand the company has an ambitious target of reaching 15, 000 clients by 2015. i certainly wish spbd the very best in achieving this vision. conclusion ladies and gentlemen, in concluding, i would just like to say that it is important for us in the reserve bank to be acquainted with, and be a part of, the ongoing initiatives, developments and future prospects in fiji ’ s microfinance sector. as a regulator we try our best to create an enabling environment for microfinance to thrive in