Chairman Azman Hashim said the financial sector has always been a pioneer in technological innovation, and the banking sector has been using AI in its value chain for some time.
“We, as stewards of the country’s financial health, recognise the pivotal role that the banking industry plays in building the nation’s burgeoning digital economy,” he said in his welcome address at the Malaysian Banking Conference 2024: Banking in the Era of GenAI – Reshaping Banking, Innovating for the New Economy, and Accelerating Sustainability.
The conference highlighted the role GenAI could play in elevating Malaysia’s financial sector to the next level.
“With these developments come the need for future-fit banking talents with the skills and knowledge to drive an AI-powered transition,” he said.
Azman also said the institute launched several courses on environmental, social and governance, digital, and AI to support the industry’s capacity-building needs.
He said the Future Skills Framework (FSF), an initiative led by AICB with the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia and the Malaysian Insurance Institute will be launched on July 22.
“The FSF is a pivotal component of Bank Negara Malaysia’s Financial Sector Blueprint 2022–2026 and aims to propel skills mastery and constant learning across the financial sector talent ecosystem, fostering a future-ready workforce, and advancing Malaysia’s financial industry,” he said.
Meanwhile, digital minister Gobind Singh Deo said financial institutions are required to look at three important issues.
He said this includes infrastructure, cybersecurity, and upskilling or reskilling when using new technologies like AI.
“With a good infrastructure, we must ensure it is secure.
“Finally, we have to ensure that the workforce knows how to use the infrastructure,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.
Gobind said infrastructure is important, as, without it, the banking sector cannot engage with customers or conduct online transactions.
“The banking sector workforce must know the challenges posed by this new technology which impact certain job clusters,” he added.
Gobind said the public has to accept the importance of the digital economy to the country because it will contribute enormously to the gross domestic product (GDP).
“We can achieve the digital economy’s targeted 25.5% contribution to the GDP by the end of next year,” he said, suggesting it could even surpass that figure.
On cybersecurity, he noted that his ministry tabled the first reading of the Personal Data Protection Act (Amendment) Bill 2024 in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
“The amendment aims to increase the penalty to RM1 million from RM300,000 for offences committed by data controllers or data processors violating personal data protection principles,” he said.
He said the second reading will also be tabled in the current Parliament session, proving the government’s commitment to cybersecurity and personal data protection.