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.
We are going to put grants to work – grants for any financial innovation in Singapore – on a competitive basis. Very importantly, we are going to develop the skills and capabilities required to make this a new wave, not just a passing trend. It requires many new skills, as well as some of the old instincts that help ensure sustainability across the cycles. And which preserve trust in finance. We have a major national program in Singapore called SkillsFuture which we are putting a lot of effort into. Finance will be an important vertical in SkillsFuture: investing in the skills of the future. Finally, we will ensure that the overall environment is supportive of start-ups and innovation. Not many of the new players will succeed, not many will last. But they will always leave an idea behind, to be modified, taken over or improved. Thank you very much. BIS central bankers’ speeches  3