Muhammad bin Ibrahim: Financial sector talent enrichment programme – syllabus enhancement Keynote address by Mr Muhammad bin Ibrahim, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the launch of the “Financial Sector Talent Enrichment Programme (FSTEP) – Syllabus Enhancement”, Kuala Lumpur, 20 July 2010. *  *  *  I am delighted to be here this morning to officiate the launching of the Financial Sector Talent Enrichment Programme – Syllabus Enhancement which will be implemented for the next 5 batches until batch 10. Today marks a milestone for FSTEP as the programme has delivered more than 680 graduates to the industry and is now poised to deliver another 500 graduates under an enhanced syllabus. The development of human capital in the financial services industry is core in promoting a well-functioning and stable financial sector. Human capital development is critical in nation building as a whole. At Bank Negara Malaysia, for many years, we have embarked on strategies to strengthen human capital development in the financial services sector. Various institutional platforms were established such as INCEIF, the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance; ICLIF, the International Centre for Leadership in Finance; AIF, the Asian Institute of Finance; and of course, FSTEP, which is entrusted with equipping talents with the right skills and knowledge for their smooth transition into the financial services industry in Malaysia. It is such initiatives that would put the necessary foundation to promote Malaysia as a centre of learning for financial services this region.
In particular, FSTEP will offer scholarships to eligible top graduates from various universities to participate in its one-year fast-track training programme. I wish to congratulate FSTEP for the successful effort in designing a new syllabus and it continuous effort to improve the FSTEP programmes remain contemporary and relevant agreed to by all parties within the financial services industry. More importantly, it is my hope that FSTEP will continue to produce the quality of graduates that will meet the needs of the industry. I hope that all of you will have a fruitful discussion and dialogue. On this note, I declare open the event “FSTEP: Syllabus Enhancement”. 2  BIS Review 100/2010