I am pleased to inform all of you that Bank Negara Malaysia has accorded Islamic Financial Planner module as a recognised qualification for financial advisers’ representatives and we are currently considering to also recognise the Shariah Registered Financial Planner module as a qualification. Apart from takaful products and services, Bank Negara Malaysia has also allowed banking institutions and Labuan offshore financial institutions to draw on the services of financial advisers as one of their distribution channels. This measure was taken in view of growing interest from financial product providers to leverage on the expertise and capabilities of financial advisers in reaching out to the wider community and at the same time promote access to financial services. 2  BIS Review 136/2008  As some of you may be aware, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in August 2007 which provides for the mutual recognition of financial advisers licensed by the Bank and financial planners licensed by the Securities Commission. In addition to providing for the mutual recognition of both licensing regimes through the harmonization of licensing requirements, the MOU also introduces green-lane processes for financial advisers and financial planners licensed under the respective regimes to apply for licences under the other regime. Bank Negara Malaysia will fast track the issuance of a financial adviser’s licence upon the financial planner having a RM100,000 paid-up capital as a corporate body.
It involves actively engaging individuals within our community to participate more fully in the economy as well as reaching out to the marginalised community and bringing them into the mainstream financial system. It has now been three years since the financial adviser framework was first introduced. We are encouraged to note that consumers’ needs and demands continue to evolve to the extent that financial products and services must now be tailored to meet individual requirements. Being independent from any product provider or manufacturer, financial advisers are indeed in a unique position in terms of capability and capacity to compare and tailor-made various financial products in order to get the best deal for their customers. Such unique position underscores the importance of the financial advisers’ role in providing value-added service to consumers as they can expect financial advisers to provide financial advice on needs-based approach rather than merely product-push approach. Ultimately, this will contribute to a higher standard of professionalism in the sale of life insurance products and preserve public confidence in the insurance industry. Let me briefly share with you the outlook of life insurance and takaful sector in Malaysia. The insurance and takaful sector recorded a strong growth of 11.4% in 2007 with combined premiums and contributions totaling RM29.7 billion. New business premiums and contributions for life insurance and family takaful sector grew by 7.6% to RM9.1 billion driven primarily by stronger demand for savings and investment-related products.