ravi menon : singapore ’ s financial centre in the new landscape keynote address by mr ravi menon, managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at the investment management association of singapore ’ s ( imas ) 14th annual conference, singapore, 13 march 2013. * * * mr lester gray, chairman of imas, distinguished speakers, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. a new financial landscape four years since lehman brothers collapsed, a new financial landscape is emerging. while the contours of this new landscape are still forming, three driving forces are discernible : financial deleveraging, regulatory reforms, and the rise of asia driving forces first, the global financial industry is deleveraging. banks around the world are consolidating their balance sheets and tightening underwriting standards, even forgoing certain types of lending altogether. many have resorted to shedding assets, especially assets in those countries where the banks do not enjoy a large market share. • according to bis data, globally, banks ’ foreign claims fell by about 15 % from early 2008 to 2012. • for european banks, the decline was twice as steep, at about 30 %. second, the global financial crisis has spurred financial regulatory reforms on a scale that we have never seen before. • basel iii will raise the quantity and quality of capital that banks must hold, increase the liquidity buffers they must keep, and limit the amount of leverage they can take on. • solvency ii will raise requirements on capital adequacy and risk management for european insurance companies, and shape the development of risk - based capital frameworks for insurers in other jurisdictions. • new capital markets regulation will transform the over - the - counter ( otc ) derivatives trading business, with mandatory reporting, central clearing, and margin requirements for non - centrally - cleared contracts. • additional capital charges and closer supervisory intensity will be applied on the so - called g - sibs, or global systemically important banks, as part of efforts to address the “ too - big - to - fail ” problem. some regulatory initiatives will impinge directly on the structure of financial institutions. many jurisdictions are pushing for local incorporation of institutions, especially if they are systemically important. in america and europe, regulators are reviewing various proposals for separating or insulating retail banking from riskier activities. third, the centre of gravity of financial activity is shifting towards asia. • the imf forecasts that, in the next five years, emerging asia will grow by

16, 000 government employees are stationed in the rural locations of solomon islands. the majority of them are teachers, nurses and police officers. some of these people travel in high seas, walk or paddle long distances to get access to their fortnightly pay. some even regularly travel to honiara and join the queues at the treasury or at the commercial bank tellers to collect their house rentals and other dues. bis central bankers ’ speeches with the recent successful introduction of mobile financial services by the commercial banks and strong up - take by the public, and delivery of person to person ( p2p ) type transactions using mobile phones and efptos machines, the next question is : is there a business case for government to people ( g2p ) type transactions in solomon islands? we will be able to hear answers to this question during the presentation this morning. i am sure that the study has uncovered interesting findings and i encourage us to make use of these findings. i hope this will generate lively discussions and new ideas around improving mobile and branchless banking transactions and more importantly providing people in remote rural areas opportunities to access their bank accounts in a convenient and cost effective manner. i am confident that stakeholders will find the study findings useful and will be able to use the results and analysis in their own respective areas of work. i encourage you to provide your valuable feedback and comments to us on the g2p report so that we can look at various options to improve financial services not only to the core g2p recipients but to the general public as well. before i take my seat, let me thank the following in making it possible to complete this study and making it available : 1. the australian government, especially the department of foreign affairs & trade ( dfat ), for the funding assistance thru the un pacific islands financial inclusion program ( pfip ). 2. the pfip for their role in providing guidance and advice and support to the study. 3. the m / s pi strategy consulting firm from bangladesh, the technical service provider for undertaking and completing the g2p study. 4. the national financial inclusion unit of cbsi, members of the national financial inclusion task force, and the field enumerators, for their hard work which made the g2p study possible and successfully completed. finally let me thank all of you invited stakeholders who are here to attend this presentation this morning. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches