Seizing the full potential of market-based finance requires the right soft and hard infrastructure for continually open markets. Hard infrastructure like resilient CCPs. Soft infrastructure like the regulation the liquidity management of funds that offer daily liquidity while investing in highly illiquid underlying assets. In particular, it requires hard infrastructure like a robust Bank of England balance sheet that can support the banking system and the broader system of market-based finance. The Bank’s new approach can be summarised in four words: we’re open for business. We now provide liquidity against a wider range of collateral, to a wider range of counterparties, for longer terms, and at lower fees than ever before. And we stand ready to provide liquidity in a range of foreign currencies if required. 13  The financial sector supporters included 20 globally-systemic banks, 8 of the top 10 global asset managers, the world’s leading pension funds and insurers, the largest sovereign wealth fund and the two dominant shareholder advisory service companies. 14 See ‘[De]Globalisation and Inflation’, 2017 IMF Michel Camdessus Central Banking Lecture given by Mark Carney, and Rachel, L and Smith, T (2015), ‘Secular drivers of the global real interest rate’, Bank of England Working Paper No. 571. For a contrary take, see Goodhart, C and Pradhan, M, (2017), ‘Demographics will reverse three multi-decade global trends’, BIS Working Papers No. 656. 9  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  9  This new approach was tested during the EU referendum. It passed.
In the context of these fundamental and far reaching changes, less attention has however been accorded to the necessary changes to the human capital development that is required for the effective participation and performance in this new financial landscape. Indeed, the talent required also needs to be transformed. These changes have also precipitated a revisit and review of education systems around the world over to address the current discontent that the education has not kept up with the changing human capital requirements of the financial services industry. The World Economic Forum has projected that “staggering” talent gaps will arise in large parts of the world by 2020, and this will have a bearing on national competitiveness while organisations compete for talent on an unprecedented scale. Managing talent has consequently become significantly more challenging and needs to be addressed with talent development. The objective is to harness the full potential of the workforce. This is particularly urgent for Asia as it emerges as an important growth centre in the global economy. With Asia’s financial services industry poised to grow rapidly, this growth must be supported by the development of capabilities among the financial industry professionals. Going forward, the investment in this core pillar will be a defining factor in the performance and the capacity of the industry to reinvent and transform and thus enhance its resilience and sustainability. The path forward needs to be guided by a strategic response to the forces that are shaping the new talent landscape.