zeti akhtar aziz : building human capital for emerging challenges speech by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the 9th bank human resources conference 2008 organised by the indian institute of banking and finance ( iibf ) : " building human capital for emerging challenges ", kuala lumpur, 29 february 2008. * * * let me first of all extend a warm welcome to the participants of this 9th bank human resource conference organised by the indian institute of banking and finance ( iibf ). it is our honour to host this conference that is being held outside india for the first time. this is one of the concrete outcomes of the alliance that has been entered into between the indian institute of banking and finance and the international centre for leadership in finance following the mou that was signed about three months ago between the two organisations. the development of human capital has to be a constant undertaking in an environment of constant change. as recent as ten years ago, we have seen the economic and financial environment dramatically transformed. there has therefore required a corresponding change in the knowledge, skills, competencies and capabilities that are now required, in particular, by the banking industry, which is a highly knowledge - intensive and skills based industry. new challenges have also emerged in this environment arising from the rapid globalisation and internationalisation of the financial system and the significant advancement in technology. these developments have led to a rapid pace of innovation and enhanced international interdependence and inter - linkages. this has generated an environment that is increasingly more complex, competitive, uncertain and ambiguous. the recent episodes of financial turmoil, have shown that even financial systems in developed and advanced economies continue to be vulnerable to financial stress. this more difficult operating environment demands new skills and the ability to manage these new challenges. indeed, the role of leadership has changed. it is essential to have the talent that are not only able to see the new emerging opportunities, but also to be able to deal with the high level of unpredictability and navigate through turbulent conditions. the industry leaders need to be visionary and comprehend future trends, chart strategic directions and adapt to changes to stay competitive and relevant. effective leaders in this era, will be those who are continuous learners, who are on the cutting edge of excellence, who have strong convictions, and yet, having humility to recognise the need to reinvent themselves and inspire their organization to adapt to the new environment. such attributes are vital if the financial services sector is to

the global level. the financial stability board is currently finalising criteria that global systemically important banks will have to fulfil in future regarding their capital structure. in particular, they will need a minimum amount of loss - absorbing capacity. this will allow for an orderly resolution of those banks and protect taxpayers from having to foot the bill. another major step towards remedying the “ too big to fail ” - problem has been taken with regard to cross - border resolution. recently, 18 global banks and the international swaps and derivatives association agreed to implement new rules on derivatives trading. whenever a large bank fails, these rules will allow authorities to temporarily suspend the rights of other banks to terminate derivatives contracts. this will buy precious time to organise an orderly resolution of the failed bank. while these steps certainly bring us closer to resolving the “ too big to fail ” - problem, there is still further to go. thus, further cooperation on this and on other issues is necessary to make the financial system a safer place over time. international cooperation always starts at the personal level, with personal relations forming the root of successful cooperation. this is bis central bankers ’ speeches where our representatives here in mumbai come into play. their task is to build networks, to share information and ideas, to explain the bundesbank ’ s positions and to facilitate cooperation. for the past four years, thomas notheis has served as the bundesbank ’ s representative here in mumbai. there is no doubt that he has had a challenging job : as he was our first representative in india, he could not draw on existing experience and had to build up a network from scratch. judging from the distinguished crowd gathered here today, he has done an excellent job. i would therefore like to thank him personally and on behalf of the bundesbank for his service here in mumbai. given the excellent job that thomas notheis has done in mumbai, i am particularly happy that he is taking his experience and skills to another post abroad. for the next three years, he will serve as the bundesbank ’ s representative in beijing. but coming back to mumbai, i would also like to take the opportunity to welcome our new representative, alexander sattler. before joining the bundesbank, he previously worked as a policy advisor at giz, the german federal government ’ s agency for international development cooperation. furthermore, with his background in both economics and political science, he worked most recently as an expert in the bundesbank ’ s international monetary