ravi menon : the institute of banking and finance at forty welcome remarks by mr ravi menon, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore and chairman of the institute of banking and finance, at the institute of banking and finance 40th anniversary dinner, singapore, 10 june 2014. * * * deputy prime minister and minister for finance, tharman shanmugaratnam, pioneers of ibf, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the council and staff of ibf, let me welcome you to ibf ’ s 40th anniversary dinner. ibf is where it is today because of what previous generations of council members and staff, industry practitioners and training providers accomplished together. they are the pioneers of ibf, whose contributions and achievements we are gathered here to celebrate. it is the inspiring vision and tireless efforts of these pioneers to build competencies in finance that helped create the international financial centre that singapore has become today. i am delighted that several of them are here with us this evening. ibf was set up in 1974 with the support of the monetary authority of singapore ( mas ) and the association of banks in singapore ( abs ). those were early days in singapore ’ s development as a financial centre. the birth of ibf helped to fill a critical gap in the training of singapore ’ s financial sector workforce. the subsequent growth of ibf has been a story of each generation building on the efforts of previous generations and helping to strengthen the capabilities of singapore ’ s finance professionals. let me begin by thanking the first group of ibf pioneers : the past chairmen of ibf. • mr michael wong pakshong, as ibf ’ s inaugural chairman from 1975 to 1977, laid out the vision for ibf – to develop a strong suite of educational programmes to support the growth of singapore ’ s banking industry. • mrs elizabeth sam, as ibf chair from 1977 to 1981, introduced ibf ’ s first and most widely - recognised diploma programme – the diploma in banking and finance. • mr ng kok song, who served as ibf chairman from 1981 to 1982, introduced a new foreign exchange training programme that helped alleviate the shortage of fx dealers in those early years when singapore was establishing itself as a global treasury hub. • mr koh beng seng, ibf ’ s longest serving chairman – from 1982 to 1997 – oversaw the introduction of many new training programmes beyond banking to cater to the broader range of financial sector activities that took root during those years. • mr tha

be slow in taking up reforms in certain sectors, but our stance with regard to pace and timing of reforms have been vindicated by our ability to ward off each of the crises that occurred in the global economy. transformation of the economy, which is discernible in the form of improved competitiveness, efficiency and productivity across all the sectors, has led the economy to a higher growth trajectory. consequent shift in relative contribution of various sectors to national income, however, brought to fore the concerns for sustainability of the transformation process and the need for an “ inclusive growth ”. this would require greater focus towards investment in the sectors namely, agriculture and allied activities, small and micro enterprises, and infrastructure. the use of technology to make available “ affordable ” financial and banking services to the under privileged sections of our society for achieving inclusive growth is also our noble but critical objective. finally, economic transformation is an ongoing process that needs to be pursued with perseverance and consensus while keeping in view their aptness to the domestic economy. let us hope that this process continues and gains pace in the coming years. thank you. select references : acharya, shankar ( 2004 ), “ india ’ s growth prospects revisited ”, economic and political weekly ( october 9 ). ahluwalia, montek ( 2002 ), “ economic reforms in india since 1991 : has gradualism worked? ” journal of economic perspectives, vol. 16, no. 3 : 67 - 88. banga, rashmi, and bishwananth goldar ( 2004 ) “ contribution of services to output growth and productivity in indian manufacturing : pre and post reforms ”, working paper 139, icrier. bosworth, b., s. m. collins and a. virmani ( 2007 ), “ sources of growth in the indian economy ”, working paper 12901, nber. central statistical organisation ( 2008 ), national accounts statistics ( base year 1993 - 94 ), ( new delhi : government of india ). chaudhury, n. et al, ( 2006 ), “ missing in action : teacher and health care worker absence in developing countries ” journal of economic perspectives, 20 ( 1 ). economic survey various issues, government of india, http : / / indiabudget. nic. in. goldar, bishwanath ( 2004 ) “ indian manufacturing : productivity trends in pre - and postreform periods ”, economic and political weekly november 20 : 5033 - 42. if