Fadilj Bajrami: Continued cooperation with central banks of the Western Balkans Address by Mr Fadilj Bajrami, Vice Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia, on the occasion of the first Programme Steering Committee Meeting of the ECB Regional Cooperation Programme with central banks in the Western Balkans, Tirana, 17 April 2014. *  *  *  Honorable Governor Fullani, Honorable Governor Hamza, Dear Mr. Sturm, Dear Mr. Rumbold, Representatives of central banks, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my honor and pleasure to be here with you in Tirana on the occasion of the first meeting of the Steering Committee for the joint cooperation project between the European Central Bank and the national central banks of the Eurosystem, and the central banks of the Western Balkans. As my colleagues have already noted, most of the activities of the project will be devoted to identifying the needs of the central banks of Albania and Kosovo in the process of their joining the European System of Central Banks, by strengthening their capacities and compliance with the standards of the central banking in the EU. Last year, the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia successfully implemented such a project in cooperation with the ECB and the Eurosystem. The project implementation has clearly identified the changes that the NBRM should focus on during its preparations for accession to the European System of Central Banks.
One particularly successful area is wealth management, and its prospects remain good. In fund management, global mandates are now increasingly being managed out of Singapore. The industry is also expanding in breadth and depth. Beyond marketing and portfolio management, fund management firms are also locating regional functions such as trading, risk management and research in Singapore. More hedge funds are also setting up here, adding to the industry’s diversity. Private banking should continue its sterling performance, as Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region for private banking in the world. According to Merrill Lynch, Asia-Pacific high net-worth individual wealth jumped 11% last year, supported by high savings rates and robust GDP growth in key regional economies such as China, South Korea and Australia. This figure could be an underestimate, given the low penetration of high net worth individuals in Asia by private banks. Bankers managing private  wealth will be attracted to locations which enjoy political and social stability and possess wellrespected regulatory, legal and accounting systems. Singapore has all these attributes and is well placed to become a premier centre for private banking business in Asia. Reputable and well regulated regimes like Singapore can provide a location of choice for investors and financial intermediaries alike, especially with the renewed emphasis on corporate governance and integrity after the excesses of the dotcom era. We can exploit this advantage to become a regional risk mitigation centre, for instance in the areas of clearing & settling OTC and exchange-traded products.