gan kim yong : keynote speech - institute of banking and finance 50th anniversary distinction evening gala keynote speech by mr gan kim yong, deputy prime minister and minister for trade and industry, and chairman of the monetary authority of singapore, at the institute of banking and finance ( ibf ) 50th anniversary distinction evening gala, singapore, 13 september 2024. * * * chairman, council members and ceo of the institute of banking and finance ( ibf ), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. i am delighted to join you today to celebrate the ibf's golden jubilee and the achievements of our award recipients. this is a significant milestone for the ibf. over the last five decades, the ibf has been an integral part of the growth story of singapore's financial sector. singapore's development as a financial centre looking back, singapore has come a long way to become the leading global financial centre in asia. a. the creation of the asian dollar market in the late 1960s was the first pivotal step that put singapore on the map of international finance. b. this was followed by the progressive removal of foreign exchange controls in the early 1970s, as singapore opened its economy to foreign investments. c. we further liberalised the financial sector in the 1990s, starting with the deregulation of interest rates, relaxation of restrictions on foreign investors in our capital markets, and allowing more foreign banks to operate here. d. more recently, we have taken moves to foster greater financial innovation, with the aim to establish singapore as a leading hub for both fintech and sustainable finance. today, singapore is the leading financial centre in asia and the third most competitive financial centre in the world1. we are home to more than 2, 500 licensed financial institutions. a. the financial sector is a key pillar of singapore's economy, accounting for about 14 % of our gdp in 2023. i. from 2021 to 2023, the financial sector recorded real value - added growth of 3. 1 % per annum. b. many good jobs with good pay have been created. 1 / 7 bis - central bankers'speeches i. in 2023 alone, total employment in the financial sector grew by 4, 800, even though economic growth was restrained due to the global tightening cycle. residents2 accounted for 85 % of this employment growth. ii. the number of singaporeans in senior roles3 has also grown more than threefold in the past few years, from less than 2, 000 in 2016 to

to strengthen household balance sheets. ( a ) first, they have slowed the growth of household debt. ( b ) second, the risk profiles of borrowers have improved. the share of borrowers taking up multiple housing loans has declined from about 30 % of new housing loans in 2011 to about 13 % as of q2 2014. the average tenure of new private housing loans has also shortened to about 25 years, compared to a peak of 30 years in 2012. bis central bankers ’ speeches 8 the measures are also playing a healthy role in cooling the property market. we can never get rid of cycles in the property market, with the upswings in some years being followed by corrections. our cooling measures cannot eliminate the cycle, but they aim to temper it. what this means is avoiding a bubble during the upswing, and allowing for a correction in prices subsequently. if we do not get a meaningful reversal after each upswing, property prices will run ahead of the growth of household incomes over the long term, which we should avoid. we have seen some correction in both private property prices and hdb resale prices over the last 4 – 5 quarters, but there is some distance to go in achieving a meaningful correction, after the sharp run - up in prices in recent years. 9 apart from housing loans, mas has also introduced new rules on unsecured credit facilities and credit cards to help individuals avoid unsustainable borrowing. credit card borrowing situation in singapore 10 globally and in singapore, the use of credit cards has become more commonplace. credit cards when used prudently offer convenience in day - to - day transactions, overseas travel and online purchases. however, excessive reliance on credit cards to finance personal spending leads to problems. we see this internationally, and in asia too. the credit card crises in korea in 2003 and taiwan in 2006, where we saw significant increases in card delinquencies, as well as debt - related crimes and strained family ties, are reminders. 11. we have so far avoided most of these problems in singapore, despite growing usage of credit cards. we were an early adopter of safeguards to discourage excessive borrowing on credit cards and unsecured credit, 1 and cardholders have generally been prudent. • credit card outstanding balances are not high by international standards, and the majority of users pay off their credit card bills in full. compared to 10 years ago, a larger share of total credit card balances is now paid off in full