tension between disruption of existing players and collaboration with them. many fintech players see themselves as disrupters. but there ’ s also a fair bit of collaboration that ’ s taking place. established financial institutions have been partnering or acquiring new, smaller players with new technologies. acquiring them either as a defensive mechanism or as a way of bringing disruptive technologies within their own organisation with the hope of strengthening what they offer customers. it ’ s hard to say how this will play out in the years to come – hard to say whether the disrupters will indeed disrupt the existing financial business in a significant way. i think it ’ s too early to say. in china, we have some major fintech players, they are no longer new now, those like alibaba and tencent. they have become established names. elsewhere it hasn ’ t made too much of a difference yet. it is early days. it ’ s entirely possible that some new fintech players will eventually make their mark as enduring brands in finance. but we are also likely to see the growing collaboration i have talked about, between established players and start - ups. it is not a zero sum game. and fintech ventures are also acting as a catalyst for existing players to reengineer legacy systems. but most importantly, fintech is promoting a shift from the traditional focus on products to a focus on customers. it ’ s about understanding their needs, and finding a way of delivering cheaper, or more convenient and more tailored services to the customer. the second tension is also important, and which we must be willing to manage. it ’ s the tension between allowing for experimentation in finance and preserving trust and credibility in our financial system. they are both important and we must be willing to manage the tension. there was i think, in the first wave of fintech, a certain breathlessness in the way which new businesses were coming up, and in the way which they were perceived and talked about. such as, in the ( peer - to - peer ) p2p lending platforms, where the name of the game was often to lend as quickly as you can, leveraging on investments in these fintech companies. the scene is now maturing. some of these new lending platforms in the us and elsewhere are now more concerned with the quality of loans they make. like banks, whose business is credit underwriting, they have to be good at both data analytics and judgment. bis central bankers ’ speeches most fintech ventures, globally

ravi menon : preparing the workforce for a changing financial industry welcome remarks by mr ravi menon, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the institute of banking and finance distinction evening 2018, singepore, 4 october 2018. * * * mr chan chun sing, minister for trade and industry, members of the ibf council, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the ibf distinction evening 2018. we are delighted to have mr chan chun sing as our guest - of - honour. minister chan, as you know, has played a leading role in the labour movement, to help prepare our workers for the future. and now minister for trade and industry, he is leading singapore ’ s economic development efforts. he will bring together his insights from these two important roles and share his thoughts later on building a smart workforce that is ready for the economy of tomorrow. the ibf distinction evening is probably the only large platform that brings together the entire financial industry – banks, insurers, asset managers, financial advisers. it is an opportune occasion – not only to catch up with colleagues and friends and celebrate our achievements as an industry – but to also reflect on the big drivers of change and key priorities for us as an industry. there is much celebrate. singapore ’ s financial centre is doing well. growth in financial services in h1 this year was 8 %, nearly twice as fast as the overall economy. in fact, the financial sector has been growing faster than the overall economy in 6 out of the last 7 years. year - on - year growth in the financial sector will moderate in h2 because of the high base last year and some maturing in momentum. mas expects financial sector growth for the year as a whole to average around 6 %. not bad at all, considering the challenges facing the global financial industry still emerging from the long shadow of the global financial crisis. slower trend growth, tighter regulation, keener competition, and increasingly technological disruption. we often talk about growth, regulation, competition, and technology. and indeed they are key drivers of the financial industry. but i think the issue that is of most relevance to the long - term prospects of our financial industry is people and skills. no matter how many robots and algorithms we use in our business in the future, our industry will remain a people - centred industry. the question is : what kind of people? 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches will they have the skills and aptitudes to harness the opportunities