, “ interagency statement on the use of alternative data in credit underwriting, ” https : / / www. federalreserve. gov / supervisionreg / caletters / ca % 201911 % 20letter % 20attachement % 20interagency % 20statement % 20on % 20the % 20use % 20of % 20alternative % 20data % 20in % 20credit % 20underwriting. pdf. kenneth p. brevoort, philipp grimm, and michelle kambara, data point : credit invisibles ( washington : consumer financial protection bureau, may 2015 ), https : / / files. consumerfinance. gov / f / 201505 _ cfpb _ data - pointcredit - invisibles. pdf. federal advisory council, which includes a range of banking institutions from across the country, recently noted that nontraditional data and the application of ai have the potential “ to improve the accuracy and fairness of credit decisions while also improving overall credit availability. ” 8 to harness the promise of machine learning to expand access to credit, especially to underserved consumers and businesses that may lack traditional credit histories, it is important to be keenly alert to potential risks around bias and inequitable outcomes. for example, if ai models are built on historical data that reflect racial bias or are optimized to replicate past decisions that may reflect bias, the models may amplify rather than ameliorate racial gaps in access to credit. along those same lines, the opaque and complex data interactions relied upon by ai could result in discrimination by race, or even lead to digital redlining, if not intentionally designed to address this risk. it is our collective responsibility to ensure that as we innovate, we build appropriate guardrails and protections to prevent such bias and ensure that ai is designed to promote equitable outcomes. as rayid ghani notes, “ … [ a ] ny ai ( or otherwise developed ) system that is affecting people ’ s lives has to be explicitly built to focus on increasing equity and not just optimizing for efficiency … [ w ] e need to make sure that we put guidelines in place to maximize the chances of the positive impact while protecting people who have been traditionally marginalized in society and may be affected negatively by the new ai systems. ” 9 federal advisory council ( fac ) record of meeting, ( december 3, 2020 ), https : / / www

banking industry. it has emerged as a key functional area driving hiring demand across financial services — some of the fastest growing job roles are in software development, cyber security, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and business process engineering. fintech alone is estimated to have contributed close to 2, 000 of the net jobs created during these two years. mas expects job growth in financial services this year to exceed the itm target. let me now take stock of progress in each of the three pillars of the itm : business strategies 6 / 11 bis central bankers'speeches jobs and skills ; and innovation and technology. business strategies i will start with our business strategies. singapore continued to do well in asset management, with assets under management ( aum ) increasing by an average 12. 7 % p. a. over 2016 and 2017. growth was robust across both traditional and alternative assets on the back of higher valuations and continued inflows to asian markets. we continued to anchor the operations of global asset managers in singapore. example : aia set up its first group - wide regional investment hub here. efforts to grow the private financing market are also showing signs of promise. alternative aum grew by an average 16. 9 % p. a. over 2016 and 2017, led by venture capital and private equity. there are currently about 220 vc and pe managers located in singapore with the majority of pe managers focused on growth and buyout strategies. around 85 % of their investments are across singapore and the region, targeting higher growth sectors such as consumer and retail, healthcare and it. we are also doing well in wealth management, with private banking aum expanding an average of 6. 6 % p. a. over 2016 and 2017. a growing number of asia ’ s wealthiest families have set up family offices in singapore to access investment opportunities in asia. singapore ’ s growth as a wealth management hub rests on its reputation as a clean and trusted jurisdiction. singapore ’ s activation of a broad network of automatic exchange of information, or aeoi, relationships, reaffirmed its commitment to international standards of transparency and tax cooperation. singapore is emerging as a leading asian bond market, with corporate debt issuance volumes rising by 22 % p. a. over the last two years. mas ’ asian bond grant scheme has supported asian companies to raise international capital in singapore. much of the increase in debt issuances here was by asian issuers — mostly from china, indonesia and india — raising debt capital in singapore for the first