It also demands greater agility, astuteness and foresight on our part to go beyond and able to ride on the next wave of growth – either at the higher end of the spectrum of financial services that focus on sophisticated and high value added activities or the lower end that cater for the traditionally underserved, as well as opportunity to fully realise the benefits from the greater regional and international integration. At the same time, a myriad of challenges including global regulatory reform, transformational technology and changing generational expectations will continue to drive change in the years to come. This would also mean that financial institutions will need to meet higher standards of how they manage risks and govern their operations. Against this background, the professionalism, productivity and capability of our talents become more important now than ever before. Future success will hinge on our ability to constantly remould the workforce in the banking industry for a new marketplace, with emphasis on a corresponding increase in the levels of knowledge, skills, competencies and  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  overall quality of our talents. We clearly have an urgent and important task ahead of us. The critical questions therefore need to be asked here – Have we done enough to sustain the competitiveness of our workforce to meet the current and future industry needs and what more can be done to propel the industry to new heights?
The transformation of Institut Bank-Bank Malaysia (IBBM) – the industry’s former training outfit, into AICB – the new professional body for the banking sector, in 2013 was an important step in this direction. The AICB champions the vision of professionalising bankers and advocates for high standards of professionalism via the introduction of its new membership framework, subjecting its members to a strict code of conduct, professionalism and ethics. Every effort now needs to be made to build on, and elevate further, the quality and value of AICB’s award of the Chartered Banker qualification so that it can be truly regarded as a gold standard for the banking professionals. In this regard, the banking industry ought to give appropriate recognition to individuals and staff who attain this prestigious qualification. Of equal importance is the demand for higher and specialist skills for high value added jobs, there are also merits in introducing more specialised qualification and certification according to functional areas or business lines, beyond the current certification offerings for treasury traders and credit officers. The suite of qualifications and certifications would then allow the banking profession to raise the bar of competence higher across sector. In taking on its mandate as the training and educational institution for the industry, we envisage the ABS to play a central role in supporting AICB as its premium learning partner in the move toward professionalising the banking sector.