finance companies. cyber resilience cyber risk remains one of the top risks which mas is tracking closely. the incidence, scale, and complexity of cyber - attacks continue to mount. recent attacks on major organisations globally such as colonial pipeline, microsoft and accellion, are strong reminders that the fallout from a cyber attack can be far - reaching. there are two cyber threats which the financial sector needs to pay keen attention to. the first is ransomware attacks where the modus operandi has become more threatening. in addition to corrupting a victim ’ s data using crypto - ransomware, attackers are now exfiltrating information from their victims. 6 / 9 bis central bankers'speeches mas has asked financial institutions to review the adequacy of their internal it controls, as well as incident response and business continuity plans to fend against the latest ransomware threats. second, cyber criminals are targeting major third - party it vendors to amplify the coverage of their attacks. the cyber attack on solarwinds is a powerful illustration of the increased sophistication and persistence of cyber criminals. they are now attacking supply chains to infiltrate the networks and systems of multiple entities. mas has exhorted financial institutions to exercise strong oversight of arrangements with third party service providers, to ensure system resilience and maintain data confidentiality. financial sector performance let me now provide an update on the financial sector. in 2020, the financial services sector 9 grew by 5. 1 % even as the overall economy contracted. in the first half of this year, we estimate the sector grew by about 6 %. growth has been broad - based across the financial services sector. the banking industry has been supported by strong fee income growth. the insurance industry expanded strongly on the back of robust demand for single - premium life insurance products. the payments industry grew significantly as adoption of e - payments gained traction with businesses and individuals moving towards online transactions. assets under management in singapore grew by 17 % year - on - year, to s $ 4. 7 trillion as at end - 2020, driven by strong inflows into traditional and alternative investment strategies 10 as well as valuation gains 11 across major asset markets. the fintech sector has also continued to do well. investments in fintech firms based in singapore reached a record s $ 1. 4 billion in 2020, an increase of more than 30 % from 2019. in the first quarter of this year, fintech companies here already raised more than s $ 650

by individuals increased to over 20 percent in fiscal 2003, second only to nonresident investors. financial institutions have already started taking advantage of this opportunity. for example, the sales of mutual funds and insurance products through bank branches have increased dramatically over the past two years. the increase may be partly due to deregulation. it may also partially reflect the successful division of labor between banks and providers of these products such as asset management companies and insurance companies, which work effectively to satisfy a wide range of customer demand. furthermore, the government is taking up the challenge to satisfy the diversified investment needs of households by increasing the issuance amount of government bonds that specifically target individual investors. in the retail financial area, from now on various business strategies implemented by financial institutions will emerge following the efforts of the most advanced retailers. in this regard, i emphasize the importance of solidifying mutual trust between financial institutions and households rather than focusing on marketing techniques. if financial institutions can establish solid relationships with households as well as explain to them the risk profile of each product and the effects of diversification and if households can make wise decisions about portfolio management with full understanding of the information provided by financial institutions, this system will lead to a more efficient allocation of resources. from the perspective of consumer protection, financial products are already governed by various regulations. however, solid and well - maintained relationships between households and financial institutions could potentially protect consumers even more effectively than such regulations, and therefore help to promote the efficient allocation of resources. 2. financing next, i will turn to the issue of how to support households to raise funds. in the past, when households in japan needed temporary and short - term funds, they appeared to prefer to withdraw money from time deposits or sell financial assets such as stocks rather than borrow money. this may be partly because the consumer loan market in japan is dysfunctional : for example, there is a substantial divergence between interest rates on consumer loans by banks and those offered by consumer finance companies. such a large gap may indicate the existence of unsatisfied financing demand of households. although there may still be difficulties in risk management of consumer loans as distinct from corporate loans, the law of large numbers is as effective a way as any other to manage credit risks of consumer loans. i do not think there is any problem with the method of risk management. financial institutions are utilizing their extensive branch network to improve their marketing strategies for consumer loans, or strengthening business alliances across different types of institutions in light of the current situation