IBF

Chairman’s Statement

Building Digital Capabilities

In the last year, digital banking and payments have become even more widespread. Greater use is being made of data science to extract insights. Artificial intelligence is playing a growing role in functions ranging from customer service to risk management and compliance. Most of all, cyber security has become critically important in the financial industry.

These changes have led to new jobs being created and existing jobs being transformed. IBF - in partnership with industry – will introduce a new digital curriculum for all finance professionals.

This digital curriculum (referred to as “Future-Enabled Skills”) aims to empower practitioners with new capabilities for digitalization, innovation and customer-friendly design, and bolster their understanding of risk, governance and ethics.

IBF will launch a mobile learning app that will broaden access to finance professionals and facilitate the learning of these topics. This will complement the more in-depth training offered by institutes of higher learning, training providers and financial institutions.

IBF will also move to a modular, skills-based certification in its competency framework. This will enable financial institutions to identify the relevant skills and develop appropriate training programmes and roadmaps for their staff. This will also help individuals identify the skills needed in their current jobs as these jobs evolve or to transit to new roles. IBF will ensure that these programmes are aligned to the IBF Standards, and certify individuals who obtain the requisite training and experience for their jobs. We have implemented this modular approach for the Consumer Banking and Fund Management segments, and will look to extend this to other industry segments over the next year.

Earlier this year, IBF introduced the MySkills Portfolio on the IBF Portal, which allows finance professionals to track their own training progress and receive programme recommendations based on their training goals. MySkills Portfolio also functions as a repository of skills and training records, and is a first step towards providing individuals with a resource to plan and manage their learning.

IBF recognised more than 750 Continuing Professional Development programmes in 2016, which covered a broad range of relevant topics, including Financial Industry Developments, Functional Competencies, Leadership, Technology, Rules & Regulations and Ethics. This was close to a two-fold increase compared to 2015.

We launched our first MasterClass for senior executives in the financial industry, to provide a platform for peers to share and learn from one another. The inaugural session for HR and Learning and Development executives focused on developing new skills and capabilities for the financial industry.

It is heartening to see the continued growth of the IBF Community. We welcomed our pioneer batch of graduates from newly-accredited programmes in Financial Planning, Operations and Risk Management. As at end-2016, more than 18,000 practitioners have been trained under the IBF Standards, and more than 4,400 practitioners certified.

Our congratulations go to our six new IBF Distinguished Fellows and 24 IBF Fellows, who were recognised for their professional stature and achievements and commitment to industry development at the IBF Distinction Evening last year. They play an important role in mentoring aspiring practitioners and inspiring them to achieve professional excellence.

I would like to thank Ang Zhongren, Karine Kam, Lim Cheng Teck and Michael Zink, who have stepped down, for their contributions to the IBF Council. I would also like to warmly welcome Amol Gupte and Judy Hsu to the Council.

I also want to express my deep gratitude to Wee Ee Cheong, Chairman of the IBF Standards Committee, Shirish Apte, Chairman of the IBF Audit Committee, and Philip Lee, Chairman of the IBF Investment Committee.

I look forward to our Members’ support in the coming year. Let us renew our commitment to build skills and develop capabilities in our people, so that they thrive in the emerging digital financial landscape.

Ravi Menon

Chairman, IBF Council