This translates to at least 6,000–7,000 new jobs for the financial industry annually. We should come together to invest in adding to the talent pool here, and avoid unproductive poaching from within the industry. MAS and IBF will continue to work with the industry to see how we can extend more competency-based skills training to new entrants joining the industry. More than any other industry perhaps, the financial industry depends on talent. Identifying, nurturing, and developing talent must therefore be the number one priority of every financial industry CEO. IBF has been organising these Annual Conferences – to bring together industry leaders to deliberate on how we can do better in building talent for the industry. Today's Conference will focus on leadership development – how we can build a robust pipeline of leaders in our organisations and develop our talent base. I wish you a fruitful session ahead and I look forward to your continuous partnership in our common journey of learning and growing in the year ahead. Thank you. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches
Another example where we’ve acted as a catalyst is our Small Business Credit Survey. The findings revealed the challenge small businesses face accessing loans for expansion. The cost of originating smaller loans is often so great that banks won’t take them on. But as a result of the gap being identified, one bank is now partnering with the Community Reinvestment Fund to refer small businesses to the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.2 Small businesses are vital to job creation and play an important role in our communities, so it’s essential we support them to get access to the credit they need to grow. I don’t want to talk about access to credit without saying a few words about the Community Reinvestment Act, or CRA. Our work supervising CRA compliance supports efforts to make sure credit gets to where it’s needed most. A large amount of work has been going on at the Board of Governors to review the modernization of the CRA, and we held two roundtables here in New York City to better understand what’s working and where we need change. What’s important is that efforts to modernize CRA maintain and strengthen the emphasis on 3/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  ensuring all communities in our nation have access to affordable credit. These principles—connect, convene, and catalyze—will continue to guide us forward as we grow our outreach programs and drive progress.