Where money flows
The banking industry provides a diverse range of careers for those interested in the ‘money’ field, from loan officers to credit and ratings analysts,. Hamidah Naziadin from the CIMB Group talked to Samantha Yong about this exciting industry.
For most of us, our first recollection of the bank involved getting a colourful piggy bank and a book showing an amount of money our parents promised would be useful to us in future. As we grew, our trips to the bank involved either depositing or withdrawing money. Thus, it’s not uncommon to only associate banks with being a place to store up our ‘treasured’ possession – cash. Banks, however, perform a myriad of other functions too.
Understanding banks
There are nine local anchor banks and 13 foreign banks in Malaysia. Unlike banks of yesteryear which only provided traditional services such as deposit and loan facilities, banks today also provide a wide range of services including advisory, wealth management, investment banking and Islamic banking.
Banks in Malaysia
| Domestic banking groups | Subsidiaries |
| Affin Holdings Berhad | Affin Bank Berhad; Affin Islamic Bank Berhad; Affin Investment Bank Berhad; Affing Moneybrokers Sdn Bhd; Affin Insurance Brokers Sdn Bhd |
| Alliance Financial Group | Alliance Bank; Alliance Islamic Bank; Alliance Investment Bank; Alliance Investment Management Berhad |
| AmBank Group | AmBank; AmInvestment Bank Group; AmIslamic Bank; AmAssurance; AmMutual |
| CIMB Group | CIMB Bank; CIMB Investment Bank; CIMB Islamic Bank |
| EON Banking Group | EON Bank; MMB Investment Bank; EONCAP Islamic Bank |
| Hong Leong Financial Group | Hong Leong Bank; Hong Leong Islamic Bank; HLG Capital; Hong Leong Assurance; Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful |
| MayBank Group | Maybank; Aseambankers; Maybank Islamic; Mayban Takaful |
| Public Bank | Public Bank; Public Investment Bank; Public Mutual; Public Islamic Bank |
| RHB Bank | RHB Bank; RHB Investment Bank; RHB Insurance; RHB Islamic Bank |
Foreign banks
| |
Key banking areas
- Consumer banking
- Also known as retail banking, consumer banking deals with personal finance and individuals. This form of banking performs the following functions: deposits, insurance, investments, credit cards, loans and mortgages.
- Investment banking
- Performing similar functions as consumer banking, investment banking deals instead with the financial needs of an organisation such as a company, a government body or an institution. The role of an investment bank is to help an organisation invest its money and to match organisations requiring funding to another with a sum of money to invest.
- Islamic banking
- An emerging sector within the banking industry, Islamic banking operates in parallel with the conventional banking system. These banks provide banking products and financial instruments which conform to globally accepted Shariah principles.
- Private banking
- This aspect of banking is very similar to that of consumer banking. However, it caters only to wealthy individuals, typically of high net worth and defined as people with excess of US$1mil in assets.
Working in banks
The banking industry is highly regulated, fast-paced and competitive.
‘Before people can entrust their savings to you, you must, as a banker first earn their trust. Thus, to build and maintain a high-level of trust with the public, integrity is the key and set regulations must be adhered to at all times. To thrive and excel in banking, ethics is essential,’ Hamidah shared.
Apart from that, with the banking industry getting increasingly competitive as consumers get more financially savvy, banks must be able to keep up with the latest technologies and trends.
‘Aspiring bankers must understand that in the banking industry, you need to be able to react to the market quickly and create value for customers. Bankers need to be able to identify opportunities early, strategise, plan ahead and be innovative in providing solutions,’ Hamidah added.
Getting in
There are generally a number of ways to begin your career in banks. Most banks offer management trainee programmes, internships and executive level jobs. Graduates usually enter through management trainee programmes, which last for one to two years. It is a fast track programme geared at grooming fresh hires for future leadership positions. For example, the 12-month CIMB complete banker programme will put fresh recruits through two months of classroom training and another 10 months on rotation within their various divisions.
‘For entry into our complete banker programme, the minimum requirement is an upper second class honours degree or a Master’s degree in finance, accounting, economics or mathematics. Even though preference is given to graduates from these degrees, we also accept a good degree from any discipline,’ Hamidah explained.
Advice
Envision yourself as a successful and well respected banker? Its imperative that you start now.
‘Do well in exams. Have a thirst for knowledge, equip yourself with strong academic qualifications and develop your people and communication skills. These qualities will carry you very far. The learning curve will be very steep. However, if you are serious in making banking your career, hard work, perseverance and a strong sense of achievement will be most rewarding and satisfying,’ Hamidah advised.
This article first appeared in doctorjob's CoursesNOW! Business 2009.
