public funds, banking sector cannot hope to perform its role effectively if the respect and trust of the people is not earned. as we commemorate this graduation today, there ’ s no better time to ask ourselves what it means to be a professional banker. drawing from the medical profession and the hippocratic oath, let us ponder on the traits to guide our pursuit of developing high calibre and trustworthy bankers, and professionalising the banking industry. three traits come to mind ; competence, character and calling. the first is competence. competence is a prerequisite of any professional – indeed, the promise to perform to the best of one ’ s ability is the first line of the hippocratic oath. in other fields, including medicine and law, the competency standards and pathways to qualification are often developed by the relevant professional bodies. for the banking sector here in malaysia, we have made significant progress to professionalise the banking industry with the establishment of the asian institute of chartered bankers ( aicb ), asian banking school and the 1 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches roll - out of the chartered banker qualification. this initiative charts a clear pathway towards developing higher levels of technical proficiency and specialisation within our profession. the aicb saw its pioneer batch of 45 graduates in 2015. this is a very good start. it lays the foundational bedrock for professionalising the banking industry. in fact, several accredited specialised programmes for the industry were introduced including the ones offered by aicb. together with the chartered banker qualification, the creation of specialised training and certification will further strengthen the required technical competencies and professional standards for the banking sector. over time, financial institutions should give due recognition to these professional qualifications with clear linkages to bankers ’ career advancement. as we move forward, we need to introduce steps that will further accelerate the move towards professionalising the banking sector : 1. firstly, in line with existing practice for the credit, compliance and treasury functions, key personnel in other critical functions will also be required to acquire the appropriate specialised qualifications to better equip themselves in performing their respective functions. for example, staff who are involved in the development of internal models or those that carry out penetration testing to address cyber threats shall undergo specialised training and certification in the relevant fields to ensure effectiveness in discharging their role. to ensure smooth implementation, the industry is expected to work with aicb and the regulators to jointly develop the curriculum and a working timeline for implementation. 2. secondly, to ensure that adequate attention

institutions. also important are solutions that can help reduce ghg emissions from existing homes on the books of financial institutions, and increase their resilience to climate hazards. such products are putting sustainability at the forefront of consumers ’ minds not only when they decide to purchase a property, but also in making future decisions regarding renovations, or energy and water supply systems. the introduction of such products is also an important start to collecting critical data for the assessment of risk differentials between green and other mortgages by financial institutions. while these developments are encouraging, experience in other markets would suggest that there is much more that financial institutions in malaysia can do to unlock the potential to scale up green housing finance. for example, current financing activities are largely focused on the end consumer, which is just one part of the housing value chain. the incorporation of green considerations in funding extended to developers and those involved in construction activities such as engineers and raw material suppliers remains largely untapped, and can help offset or spread over time the generally high upfront costs associated with green buildings. protection products, such as green housing insurance, also remains an unexplored market in malaysia despite the steadily increasing number of green buildings in the country. within existing product offerings, novel features such as additional protection for non - certified green buildings to rebuild in green when damage occurs, could also be explored. responding to the need for green housing calls on financial institutions to take an approach that is at once novel but not entirely unfamiliar. the journey towards greater incorporation of sustainability considerations is one which many institutions have embarked on, and a focus on green housing is both highly strategic and impactful to the broader agenda of greening the economy. it does, however, bring with it some specific challenges. housing affordability in malaysia is already presenting a significant challenge to home ownership with house prices remaining beyond the reach of many malaysians. this is further compounded by current high levels of household debt. the goal for institutions is to develop green housing solutions that would not substantially worsen these conditions and help steer the market towards a just and orderly transition. rising to this challenge will require creativity and collaboration between public and private institutions. i am encouraged to see the broad range of participants assembled at this event, including social housing enterprises, government bodies, and non - profit organisations which along with the private sector, have the wherewithal to open up opportunities for the development of new business and funding models for green housing. bank negara malaysia, working together with the jc3