Ravi Menon: The Institute of Banking and Finance at forty Welcome remarks by Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Chairman of the Institute of Banking and Finance, at the Institute of Banking and Finance 40th Anniversary Dinner, Singapore, 10 June 2014. *  *  *  Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Pioneers of IBF, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, On behalf of the Council and staff of IBF, let me welcome you to IBF’s 40th anniversary dinner. IBF is where it is today because of what previous generations of Council members and staff, industry practitioners and training providers accomplished together. They are the Pioneers of IBF, whose contributions and achievements we are gathered here to celebrate. It is the inspiring vision and tireless efforts of these Pioneers to build competencies in finance that helped create the international financial centre that Singapore has become today. I am delighted that several of them are here with us this evening. IBF was set up in 1974 with the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS). Those were early days in Singapore’s development as a financial centre. The birth of IBF helped to fill a critical gap in the training of Singapore’s financial sector workforce. The subsequent growth of IBF has been a story of each generation building on the efforts of previous generations and helping to strengthen the capabilities of Singapore’s finance professionals.
You gave your time freely and shared your ideas selflessly. Thank you. We are also indebted to our partners and trainers who have contributed on a pro-bono basis to IBF’s learning resources – working on impossible timelines to deliver high-quality training standards and study guide materials. There is a final group that I want to acknowledge, the unsung heroes of the IBF story – the past and present staff of IBF. •  From administering the CMFAS examinations to developing new industry examinations;  •  from reviewing and accrediting training programmes to certifying individuals under FICS;  •  the management and staff of IBF have been unrelenting in their commitment to raising industry standards. As we look back at IBF’s 40 years, we can take pride in what it has achieved. •  Some 200,000 participants have benefitted to-date from training courses offered or accredited by IBF. •  Close to 2,000 practitioners have been certified under the FICS Standards. One of the reasons why IBF has done well is that it has renewed itself periodically, to stay relevant and effective amidst a changing environment but always focused on its core mandate of promoting competency in finance. Today, IBF embarks on the next phase of its journey to raise industry standards. Our new mission is to “empower practitioners with capabilities for a robust Asian financial industry”. To equip our finance professionals for the next phase in Singapore’s development as a financial centre, IBF will focus on two new dimensions.