BoT to certify forex dealers
The Bank of Thailand will certify 700 foreign exchange and money market dealers across the country to upgrade workforce standards.
Vachira Arromdee, assistant governor of the financial markets operations group, said the central bank and the Thai Financial Market Committee (TFMC) have set up “treasury dealer certification” as a way to upgrade the workforce and improve industry practices.
In 2015, the central bank established the TFMC as a place for cooperation among financial market participants from the public and private sectors.
The committee’s members included representatives from the Bank of Thailand, the Thai Bankers’ Association, the Association of International Banks, the Association of Investment Management Companies, the Association Cambiste Internationale, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Thai Bond Market Association.
“The standards and certification of dealers have been widely adopted in other countries but for Thailand it is very new and there’s no clear standard yet,” Ms Vachira said.
She said certification of dealers has already been adopted in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.
Certification will be awarded by the Bank of Thailand after the dealers pass the test determined by the committee. The test consists of three parts: basic technical knowledge, ethics and code of conduct, and regulation and monetary operation.
In the first stage, 500 dealers with more than five years of experience can obtain certification without taking the test, but they must attend a course provided by the committee.
Ms Vachira said the certification aims to improve dealers’ knowledge of both foreign exchange and money market operations.
Interested dealers can apply for the test from March, and the central bank hopes all dealers will be certified by September, though the certification will be done on a voluntary basis.
Separately, Ms Vachira said the baht has been less volatile than its regional peers, with a yearto-date average volatility rate of 3.7% compared with the Philippine peso’s 4.3%, the Korean won’s 13.5%, the Singaporean dollar’s 8.1% and the Chinese yuan’s 4.5%.