Having competent staff to deliver high quality products and services is critical to building customer confidence and goodwill, driving customer satisfaction, enhancing reputation and ultimately realising individual institutions' corporate vision and strategic goals. It is therefore, in the best interest of banking institutions to strengthen further the competence and professionalism of staff in the industry. In this regard, financial institutions can of course adopt the measure of “buying talent” from the market. This may however, risk in high compensations that are not commensurate with the value added. The more desirable option is the building, developing and maintaining a pipeline of talent from within the company. Let me turn to Malaysia's experience in human capital development for the financial services industry. In Malaysia, structured and comprehensive approach to human capital development has been a key part of our efforts for the development and advancement of the industry. The programmes by ICLIF, which is now in its 6th year of operations, provide programmes in leadership development for the senior management level in the financial services industry. The programmes carried out by the Institute of Bankers Malaysia, the training arm of the banking industry, have also been recently reviewed to meet the new demands of the financial sector. In addition, dialogue between the industry and other education providers including institutions of higher learning have taken place to promote well equipped supply of talent.
These developments have led to a rapid pace of innovation and enhanced international interdependence and inter-linkages. This has generated an environment that is increasingly more complex, competitive, uncertain and ambiguous. The recent episodes of financial turmoil, have shown that even financial systems in developed and advanced economies continue to be vulnerable to financial stress. This more difficult operating environment demands new skills and the ability to manage these new challenges. Indeed, the role of leadership has changed. It is essential to have the talent that are not only able to see the new emerging opportunities, but also to be able to deal with the high level of unpredictability and navigate through turbulent conditions. The industry leaders need to be visionary and comprehend future trends, chart strategic directions and adapt to changes to stay competitive and relevant. Effective leaders in this era, will be those who are continuous learners, who are on the cutting edge of excellence, who have strong convictions, and yet, having humility to recognise the need to reinvent themselves and inspire their organization to adapt to the new environment. Such attributes are vital if the financial services sector is to forge ahead and remain at the forefront of new innovations and thus secure long-term competitiveness. In this process, there needs to be avenues for continuous learning. The establishment of ICLIF is part of our commitment towards providing such an avenue to enhance leadership capability and develop world-class leaders in the financial services sector.